The Beginning of Forever
by caspianandsusan4ever
Summary: Sequel to Where the Heart is. Susan and Caspian begin their married life. Everything is perfect, until a certain King and Prince decide to crash the wedding, and then it all begins to fall apart. Can they keep it together? Suspian, Peter/OC. Slightly AU
1. Baby Just Say Yes

"Marry me."

The words rang in her head over and over again. The wishing well the grass the flowers the garden just faded away into nothing until it was just her and Caspian. Her heart was beating so fast she felt like it was going to fly out of her chest and land at Caspian's feet. He was so wonderful and sweet and caring and tender and brave and good and chivalrous and kind and witty and handsome and charming. She had spent entire years of her early teenage life imagining the perfect husband in her head. But he had been nothing like Caspian. No man could hold candle to Caspian.

Her dream man didn't have Caspian's gorgeous skin, perpetually messy hair, perfect body, crooked smile, deep laugh, wit and charm or those eyes…! Of course her dream husband had been sweet and kind and handsome but Susan had never even imagined anyone could be half as sweet as her Caspian. Caspian was light years beyond anything she could have even dreamed of.

Her whole body was numb as she twisted around in Caspian's arms and looked at his face full of anticipation and love. She knew how cliché and corny it was but she could not help but let a few tears trickle down her cheeks. She was so incredibly, amazingly happy. Before today she didn't even know it was possible to be this happy. It was like a thousand butterflies were flying out of her heart and into the wind. Her heart had long stong stopped beating and it was like everything had stopped and was playing in slow motion. She was so thrilled and happy she couldn't even feel the soft grass or the warm breeze. It was like her body was off in a faraway land and she was watching herself from love of her life was asking her to marry him. Her whole body was shaking and trembling. She loved him so very very much...

* * *

><p>Caspian's heart was buzzing and thumping so fast he was sure he would get a letter from Archenland inquiring to his health. Those two seconds before she turned around to look at him might as well have been thirteen hundred years. He did his best to hold the ring steady but his hand was shaking from pure excitement and anticipation. She had to say yes…<p>

Agonizingly slowly she twisted around in his arms to look at him. Her mouth was hanging open and her face was slightly pale. He saw so many emotions in her blue eyes that his head was starting to hurt and the small garden started spinning. His heart slammed against his chest when he saw something he was dreading in her eyes…tears. Oh Aslan it was too early! How stupid was he? What an idiot! How dare he propose to her merely a month after Rabadash's attack?

How insensitive was he? How callous? He mentally slapped himself as he realized the blunder of his words 'marry me.' The image of Rabadash kissing her and demanding the very same thing, tears in her eyes floated behind his eyes and he felt as if he was going to vomit. He felt an icy iron hand grip his heart when she looked down at the ground and two salty tears slipped out of her beautiful eyes and down her rosy cheeks. He had actually made her cry.

His face fell. "Sweet, dear heart, love, please don't cry. It's too soon I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I –should have waited but it's just….I love you so much and-"

She pressed a delicate finger over his lips, silencing him. His whole body was on fire. She was touching his lips…

"Yes." She whispered so softly for a moment Caspian wasn't even sure if she had actually said it or if it was just his imagination playing with him.

"What did you just say?" he said in a very squeaky, high pitched voice. He was feeling about five years old.

She grabbed his hand softly in hers and a radiant smile appeared through her tears.

"Yes. Yes yes yes!" she said with pure elation and Caspian's heart skipped a few beats. He couldn't even comprehend the magnitude of his joy at hearing that one simple word.

He was speechless as he threw his arms around her and squeezed her so tight he though he heard her groan in pain and immediately loosed his hold. He scrambled off the ground in pure euphoria and pulled her up, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and twirling her around in the air, laughing like a fool. Her soft curls flew about his head and her soft pink dress billowed out in waves.

She was laughing and squealing, tears of happiness pouring down her face and soaking his shirt. He quickly set her on her feet and slammed his lips into hers. She laughed into the kiss and reciprocated with every ounce of love in her soul.

Quite reluctantly but still grinning like a fool he fumbled with the ring and slid it onto her finger with shaking hand. She had been so shocked at first that she hadn't even glanced at the ring. But now she was completely utterly and totally speechless. It looked just like her mothers. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen in her whole life and brought a thousand memories flowing back. She went almost a whole minute without speaking, staring at the beautiful diamonds on her finger.

"Oh Caspian...It's- beautiful. It's just like my mother's." she finally said, her voice cracking with emotion.

Caspian smiled and pulled her in for another hug, burying his head in her neck. "Trumpkin made it. I had Edmund sketch out your mother's ring and Trumpkin was able to re create it." he whispered into her hair. He had not even thought it possible to feel so much joy and love for another person. He thought he would burst. She said yes!

"Oh love I'm so glad you like it. I love you. I love you so very, very much," he said with pure euphoria.

"I love you too. More than anything." she whispered into his shoulder.

He pulled back and leaned his forehead against hers, still grinning massively. "We're getting married!" he said with a laugh and grabbed her face with both hands and slammed his lips into hers, pouring out all his love for her into that one kiss. Fire was shooting through his veins as her hands tangled in his hair and she pulled him even closer to her.

"I love you," he mumbled against her lips and she smiled into the kiss. "I love you more," she moaned and he felt bubbles of pure happiness jumping around in his stomach.

The engaged couple pulled apart finally, breathing heavily and unable to whipe the smiles off their faces. "We're getting married," Susan grinned, testing out the foreign words in her mouth. She loved the way those three simple words made her lips buzz and her heart burn.

Caspian was going to be her husband! Her _husband._ And every day was going to be like this. She would get to spent the rest of her life with the love of her life. She wouldn't spend eternity by the side of some stiff, pompous, arrogant, disgusting prince the court had picked out for her like she had feared her whole life. Peter had promised her he would never make her marry someone she didn't love but it wasn't him she was worried about.

Caspian laughed his wonderful ringing laugh and Susan's heart flipped with joy. She would get to here that sound the rest of her life.

Caspian's laugh was contageous and soon the two were both laughing hysterically, enveloped in each others arms and rocking from sidee to side. This was exactly how it was supposed to be. Caspian grinned mischievously and Susan blushed and cocked her head playfully. She arched an eyebrow.

"What?"

"Dance with me."

She blinked and then threw her head back and laughed, exposing her beautiful white throat. Caspian wanted her terribly...

"There's no music." she said with sparkling eyes and Caspian bowed extravagantly with a air of fake superiority, making Susan giggle and blush.

"So? Dance with me. Be my partner. Sweep me off my feet!" he joked with a cheeky grin and Susan laughed again. How he loved that sound.

He bowed so low he toupled over in quite an undignified heap at her feet and Susan burst out into hysterical laughter, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I...meant to do that," he said from the ground as Susan finally grabbed his upper arm and pulled him to his feet, still gigging uncontrollably.

"Of course you did dear," she said loftily kissing his cheek as Caspian placed one hand on her waist and took hers with the other. He started twirling her around the flowers and grass, her skirts swirling around his legs. He spun her out with a flourish and pulled her back into him smoothly with her back against his chest, holding hands across her waist. She smiled and twisted her head around to kiss his cheek, laughing as a blush crept across his cheeks.

"My dear sir, are you blushing?" she teased and Caspian stuck his tongue out at her before twirling her beneath his arm. He could almost hear the faun's music playing in the background and he became entranced in the quick, passionate tune that was playing over and over in his head again. Apparently, the same music was playing in his fiance's head because she kept in perfect step with him, dipping and whirling and spinning and twirling in all the right places, never once missing a step. It was like they formed one complete person taking shape in two bodies.

The fast, firery, passionate song in their heads was coming to an end and Caspian lifted Susan in the air and twirled her around, bringing her down gently into a very low dip. His face was so close to her neck. She pecked him on the cheek playfully and Caspian briefly pressed his lips to her neck, sending shivers down her spine. He pulled her back up gracefully and although no music was playing the last note rang through the air like a bell on Christmas morning.

She brought the soft hand resting in his to the back of his neck and kept the other on his shoulder. She rested her cheek on the hand on his shoulder and sighed deeply. This was just a taste of the rest of her life...

Caspian smiled and wrapped his other hand more securely around her waist and brought her closer to him, inhaling her wonderfully intoxicating smell. She nuzzled her head more deeply into his shoulder and stretched up on her tiptoes to kiss his jaw, sending fire through him. The two just swayed back and forth for what they wished could have been forever, whispering and soaking each other up. Caspian absently rubbed circles on her back, careful to avoid an enormous bruise he knew was still quite present on her spine.

She mumbled something incoherently into his shoulder and he rested his cheek on her warm hair in return. "I love you," he said. She kissed his shoulder blade. "I love you too."

"You know, soon everyday will be this wonderful," she said and he smiled. "No. Every day will be better." he whispered and Susan's heart melted. There was a long, contented pause as they swayed gently across the garden.

"So, when do you want to get married?'' he said casually with a grin, loving the way those words sounded out of his mouth. She sighed happily. "As soon as possible."

That was good enough for him.

Softly, Caspian began to humm a very old Telmarine lullaby he vaguely remembered his mother singing to him when he was four years old. The last memory he had of her was when she was very sick and little Caspian was snuggled up with her on his parents bed (the disease was not contagious) and she as humming softly to him. The old memory brought a familiar ache to his heart but he took one look at Susan and it melted away.

"I wish my mother was here. She would love you," he said in a soft voice and Susan felt a twinge of pity for her love. She opened her mouth to comfort him when something large and hard fell out of the sky and landed on top of Caspian's head.

"Ow! What the heck was that?" he exclaimed rubbing his head and bending down to pick up the strange object with a mutinous glare. It was a shoe.

"What on earth...? EDMUND!" Susan yelled, looking up at the tree branch above them that hung over the garden wall.

"Um hey Su...fancy seeing you here?" he said from a low branch with a guilty half smile.

"Were you_ SPYING_ on me?"

"Noooo...'' he said and Susan gave him the 'evil witch woman eye of death' as Peter so fondly called it.

"Shhh Lucy shut up, I can't hear what she's saying!"

"Ow Peter you're on my foot!" came angry whisperings from the branch above Edmund's.

Susan looked up to her entire family sitting up in the tree spying on Caspian proposing.

"I can't believe you three! I can't _believe_ it; well,actually I can but still!'' she said angrily but her blue eyes were still sparkling.

She punctuated her last word by chucking Edmund's shoe back into the tree with as much force as she could muster and succeeding in hitting him in the arm, causing him to lose his balance and flap his arms like a bird before falling out of the apple tree in a comical heap, sending about a dozen apples showering onto his head.

Peter started laughing very loudly and pointing at his little brother. "This was your idea you big idiot!" Edmund screeched and threw an apple as hard as he could from the ground at his older brother, sending him to the ground beside him. Now it was Edmund's turn to laugh. Caspian just stood next to Susan the whole time, marvelling at the his new family. Every day was going to be like this! He had always craved a family and now he had the best one he could possibly imagine.

Susan and Caspian watched on, horribly amused when Peter and Edmund started wrestling on the ground like a couple of five year olds fighting over a coveted toy. The Gently Queen merely laughed and wrapped an arms around Caspian's waist in a half hug. He smiled and kissed the top of her head.

The two love birds were completely caught off guard as a madly excited Lucy scrambled down from the branch as fast as her legs would carry and barreled into the two with such force Caspian barely managed to keep them on their feet.

"I am so happy for you two!You're getting married!Oh this is so wonderful I am so EXCITED! You two are absolutely perfect for each other. Oh this is the happiest day of my life!'' she squealed, somehow managing to hug both of them at the same time. Caspian and Susan both grinned wildly and hugged her back.

"Believe me Lu, this is the happiest day of my life too." she said, stretching up to kiss Caspian on the lip.

Finally, Peter and Edmund stopped squabbling long enough to get up and come over to the newly engaged couple. Peter and Edmund both clapped Caspian on the shoulder.

"Looks like you have a new big brother eh Pete?" Edmund said with a smirk and Peter rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. But keep this in mind baby brother, no matter who are sister marries you will always be the baby brother," he said and Peter smacked him upside the head. Susan laughed and ruffled Edmund's hair. He swatted her hand away.

"Do you know long it takes in the morning to get my hair to look this good?" he said with fake irritation and a air of false superiority.

Susan rolled her eyes. "See, now that is why I am always late to breakfast! I sit outside in the hallway for a half hour every morning for SOMEONE-Edmund- to get out of the bathroom!'' she said with fake fury and Edmund grinned sheepishly.

"You of all people should know that it takes time to be pretty," he said, flipping his hair out of his face and putting his hands on his hips with fake arrogance.

Peter scrambled up from the ground, shoving Edmund back onto the grass, and made his way towards Caspian and Susan with a smile on his face. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around his baby sister and kissed her on the cheek, hugging her a moment too long. His sister was getting married.

"She doesn't need time. She rolls out of bed beautiful," Peter said into Susan's shoulder, causing her to blush and squeeze him tighter.

Edmund's grin widened, his eyes sparkling with a fantastic jibe to his brother.

"Yep and pretty soon Caspian is going to get to see that first hand," he said cheekily and Susan blushed so hard the tops of her shoulders turned red.

Caspian laughed nervously as the smile fell from Peter's face and distorted into the look of one who is about to vomit. His face turned a spectacular shade of green and everyone laughed including Lucy who had yet to process the cheeky pun.

Edmund was laughing so hard he was rolling on the ground. Caspian had to pound Peter on the back a few times to get him to start breathing again. He turned to Edmund.

"I actually hadn't thought about that yet. Thank you for bringing it up. Excuse me while I reminisce about the good old days when boys had cooties." he said in a strange voice and everyone laughed again except Caspian who had a strange look on his face.

"What's a _cootie?"_ he said with a flabbergasted look on his face. He turned to Susan quickly.

"Whatever it is I swear I don't have it," he said with wide eyes and Susan burst out into hysterical, uncontrollable laughter.

"Of course you don't dear. And if you did I would love you just as much," she said in a failed attempt at seriousness.

Caspian looked down at his town and shuffled his feet in an injured fashion and stuck his lips out in a pout.

"You guys are mean."


	2. The Countdown Begins

**Hello everyone! I am sorry for the long wait but i was in Kansas for my cousins wedding so i didn't really have computer access. It's a filler pre-wedding chapter so yeah. Please let me know what you think.**

**Oh, and P.S. I am TOTALLY grateful for all the favorites and story alerts i have received for this story. And I don't mean to sound snotty or ungrateful but if you like this story enough to make it a favorite I would really appreciate it if you would tell me specifically what it is that you like about it so I can improve my writing. Thank you very much! I would really appreciate it!**

Caspian lay in the courtyard of the Cair, sprawled out in the grass and soaking in the sun. Two more days. Two more days and he would be the happiest man in the world, his and theirs. Two more days and he would be standing at the altar before nearly six hundred and fifty foreign dignitaries saying I do. Two more days and Peter would be walking Susan down the aisle and all eyes would be on her. Two more days and he would be taking his first steps as a married man. Two more days and they would share the first dance of the ball, the first dance of their new _life. _Two more days and Susan would be his forever. Two more days and Susan would be his wife. The word sent shivers down his spine. For three long, agonizing years that word had stricken fear to his very core.

How could he have married when he had no heart to give? How can you pretend to be happy with someone when your heart belongs to someone else? Even someone that is gone forever? How could you give away your whole entire life to someone you didn't love? Even a little bit? He shuddered and then shook his head, erasing the memories of the horrible pain and suffering that had plagued him for so long. He hadn't been alive those three years. He had been an empty, black, broken shell of a person without her in his life. But now, he would have her forever. He would hear her laugh everyday and see that beautiful smile everyday. He would someday raise his children with her and wake up next to her every morning.

Excitement and anticipation bubbled up inside of his stomach. He didn't have to give up his life for a woman he didn't love. Instead he got to spend the rest of his life with someone he loved totally and completely with his whole entire being. The rest of his _life _by her side. It was too perfect for his brain to even comprehend. Never in his life did he even dream about marrying someone he was in love with. He had always thought he would end up marrying some spoiled, stiff, air head princess or lord's daughter chosen by Miraz and his awful council.

And he wouldn't have been expected to have any feeling for the poor girl. He had to marry and produce an heir and put on a brave face for the country. That was what Telmarines do, he had always been told. Put on a fierce mask for the people and grin and bear were strong and fierce and had no emotion. That was how he had always expected it to be. He was to be king and it was his job. And it of course wasn't his first choice to spend the rest of his life with someone he detested and he would have felt horrible about not being able to give his wife the love every woman deserves but he had been willing to give up his happiness for Narnia. Ten generations of unhappy, strained, loveless marriages...and then Susan came along. Ten generations of Telmarines had been forces into politically strenghtening marriages.

But no sir, not him. He would be the first of ten generations of Caspian's (and their brothers and sisters) to marry for love and not have an arranged marriage. Just the thought of an eternity with Susan, his love and his heart, was enough to make his blood rush to his cheeks and his whole body tingle most pleasantly. Oh he was so nervous! The most wonderful, joyous, amazing nervous anyone could possibly feel. He was particularly looking forward to the moments after the wedding ceremony…

He rolled over on his side in the grass and inhaled the sweet smell of the Narnian air. He groaned and a childlike frown appeared on his handsome face as two large shadows towered over him and blocked his sun. Caspian cracked one eye opened and quickly shut it and rolled over onto his stomach. Perhaps if he feigned sleep they would go away…

"Nice try Caspian. You're not getting rid of us that easy," the smug voice of the High King daunted and Caspian growled haphazardly and batted a hand idly at the air.

"Please say this is not about flowers or tablecloths or …food or something." he groaned lazily and Edmund laughed.

"Oh no brother. It's better. Much much better," the Just king said in a smug voice, rubbing his hands together wickedly

"C'mon. Get up. We are going to the tailor." Peter said, his face turning into a mask of agony and he sighed grimly as if announcing their presence was required at the gallows.

Caspian groaned even louder and felt as if he might cry.

"Oh sweet Aslan please no! Not the tailor!" he cried with another groan, putting his face in his hands. He absolutely _despised _going to the tailor. All that standing! He couldn't stand it! How did Susan do it? He could only imagine how long she had to stand there on that little pedestal to be meausured for her wedding dress.

Peter grimaced and pulled his friend to his feet. "I know, I know. It's okay Caspian we have to go too. Don't cry," he said patting his friend on the back and began dragging him (with the help of Edmund) across the courtyard and to the palace.

"Do we have to go? Can't we just like...hide in that tree or something?" the Telamarine King said hopefully.

"Sorry buddy. But just think, my poor sister had to stand on that bloody pedestal for nearly two _just to be measured. _

Caspian's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. Two and a half hours? He would be bloody grateful for forty-five minutes thank you very much.

"Plus, by order of Queen Lucy the Valiant, we have to 'get our butts down to the tailors room immediately unless we wish to wear our underwear to the wedding and face the wrath of the Gentle Queen of Narnia," Peter said in a very kingly voice.

Edmund grinned wickedly and turned to Caspian with a wicked smile. "Well, I'm sure my dear sister the Gentle Queen would have no problem with that choice of clothing for you eh Caspian?'' he said cheekily, elbowing Caspian in the ribs.

Caspian blushed so hard his scalp burned but couldn't help laughing at the spectacular shades of red and green his soon-to-be wife's older brother turned. Peter turned to Edmund and gagged.

"I am just going to pretend I didn't hear that." he said, his face still green.

* * *

><p>"White or purple?"<p>

"Hmmm..."

"White. Or. Purple."

"I don't know! What does it matter! White?"

Lucy glared and raised her eyebrow at her distracted sister. Susan smiled and shook her head in pity for her poor little brother. He paused for a moment.

"Purple?"

Lucy nodded, satisfied.

"There you go," she said encouraginly, grabbing a stack of lilac cloth napkins and handing them to the scullerly maid with a grateful smile.

Edmund groaned and flopped onto the carpet at Susan's feet. "Why? Why are you doing this to me Su? Did I do something wrong to you? Do you _hate_ me? Are you trying to get back at me for making you go to dinner with Jason?" he said in a desperate voice.

Susan snorted. "I had actually forgotten about that horrible dinner but thank you for reminding me," she said icily and Edmund stuck his lip out in a pout.

"Oh come on Su, he wasn't that bad. At least he was good looking," he said in an almost coaxing manner and Susan shoved him with her foot.

"He stuck my straw up his nose and pretended to be a walrus...and then put the straw back in my drink!" she said loudly and Lucy started giggling like a mad person.

"You're not cheating on me with this _walrus_ person now are you my love?"

Susan's heart beat faster at the sound of that heavy Spanish accent and an incredible warmth flooded her body. She laughed as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her shoulder blade.

"Oh no no no no sweetheart, you are_ much_ better than any walrus I've ever met..." she said quickly with total innocence and Caspian rolled his eyes.

"Oh thank you dear. That is the most wonderful thing you have ever said to me,'' he said sarcastically and Susan kissed his cheek and patted his arm reassuringly. "No aquatic animal could ever come close to you darling," she said before giving him a quick peck on the lips. He smiled like a kid in a candy store.

"Why thank you love. I'm flattered."Caspian chuckled.

Edmund gagged. "Ugh, you two are so sweet you're making my teeth hurt," he complained although his eyes were warm. Susan stood up and stretched, realizing just how tired she was. She had spent every minute of the last two weeks choosing flowers, tying ribbons, picking fabrics and writing out invitations. She yawned and blinked rapidly a few times. All she wanted was to lay down and sleep the next two days so she wouldn't have to deal with all the anticipation and impatience and nervousness. Just two more days and she would be married to Caspian!

Caspian, sensing how exhausted she was, wrapped his arms around her once again and rested his head on the top of hers. She was too tired to reciprocate the hug and just leaned against him heavily. "Just two more days love. Two more days and this will all be over and we can enjoy our honeymoon..." he whispered cheekily and Susan rolled her eyes and swatted his chest, pulling back with a smile and walking across the room to help Lucy decide on a flower arrangement.

Her eyes lit up as she leaned in and smelled the arrangement of lavendar and white roses. She hummed happily and a soft smile graced her lips as she gently rubbed the smooth rose petal against her face and closed her eyes taking in the softness and sweetness of the beautiful flowers, exposing the long faded scar on her cheek. Caspian winced and his blood boiled. How could something so disgusting and vile happen to someone so sweet and gentle and kind and beautiful? He could almost feel the angry tears prickling behind his eyes at the memories of her limp body in his arms crossing the river, madly dashing away from that terrible hell hole. But all traces of anger and guilt and disgusst faded as she glanced up and caught him staring at her. Her smile widened and her blue eyes light up and sparkled. She blushed slightly and wiggled her fingers at him and he smiled back at her. Caspian winked at her and she giggled, blowing him a kiss playfully and he grinned. He had never seen her so...giggly and excited and playful. Maybe it was the lack of sleep...

Lucy's brow furrowed and she followed her sister's gaze and rolled her eyes playfully, her eyes gleaming. She grinned reproachfully and grabbed her sister's arm and gently turned her back around to face the flowers.

"Come on silly, focus. You have forever to make goo-goo eyes at Caspian."

* * *

><p>The next day of last minute panic and last minute wedding preparations passed agonizingly slowly for the soon to be happy couple. Susan thought if one more person came to her in a panic about flowers or tablecloths or food or clothing her brain would start leaking out of her ears. Caspian, who was no fool, had spent most of that long day hiding in an apple tree-so as to avoid the very issue Susan had been confronted with at least fifty times that day.<p>

It was late October and the leaves in the trees were just starting to turn red and gold and brown at the edges, falling in crinkly piles at the roots of the trees. He loved this time of year. Naturally, he was a Telmarine so he detested cold with every nerve in his body so winter was his least favorite, although he thought the snow was very beautiful, covering the earth and trees with its icy crystals. He was most comfortable in the summer for he was designed to withstand scorching sun and blazing heat but after a while he tired of the never changing scenery and welcomed spring with open arms. The flowers poking their heads out of the ground, the trees coming alive and the chill in the air melting away.

And so sat King Caspian X of Narnia between the golden red October leaves, reading one of the Professor's stories about the Golden Age and sipping a cup of chocolate, hiding from a ravenous band of wedding planners. He smiled and delicately ghosted his fingers across a drawing of Susan in his story book. His beautiful, beautiful, Susan who would be his forever this time tomorrow. He had been so insanely impatient all day. He just wanted this day to be over and for it to be tomorrow.

He wanted to walk down the aisle and hold her hand at the altar and say I do. He wanted to take his first steps as a married man now. He wanted to twirl her around on the dance floor before nearly four hundred jealous men, having the satisfaction of knowing out of all of them, the most beautiful, sweet, gentle, smart, generous, loving, kind, woman in the world had chosen him. He wanted to be married now. He wanted his wedding night now…

He sighed contentedly and closed the book, balancing it precariously on the branch next to him. The king of Narnia carefully draped himself across the branches of the tree and crossed his arms over his stomach, gazing over Cair Paravel spread before him, even grander and more magnificent than he could have ever imagined as a child. He shuddered as he remembered his child hood.

The only pleasant memories of the first sixteen years of his life were the very few he had left of his father. He had been only four when his mother had caught the strange Calormene flu and, as Caspian was not known for his keen memory, he had but a few blurred images and sweet bits and threads of songs of his mother remaining in his memory.

As for his father, he had so many many wonderful memories of his beloved father. His father teaching him to play chess, his father practicing swordplay and beating Narnia's finest warriors, his father singing him to sleep (rather loudly and very off key), his father reading him Telmarine bed time stories, usually of hard men who came, saw, and took, as was the motto of a 'true Telmarine' he had been told endlessly as a child.

And after the murder of his father, he had nothing. Shrill nursemaids, a distant, cross aunt and a hard, cruel, evil, monstrous, uncle. He still stomach churned from the flashes and images of the cold gaze Miraz fixed him with his whole life. His eyes became almost black (with what little Caspian thought was a trick of the light) but knew now was the look of one who has been so consumed with jealously murder and deceit and treachery and foulness that his very soul had been replaced with a bloodthirsty beast. Never once, even for a moment, was he loved by his aunt and uncle. The only touches he received from Miraz were solid slaps on the back, and several hard smacks upside the head and sometimes even slaps across the face.

Little Caspian had always been convinced that Miraz was just disciplining him the way his father had disciplined him and that he really did love and care for him but just didn't know how to show it. His aunt however, he had hardly any contact with. She was always quite civil and very quite and almost nervous around him. Several times Caspian thought she looked like she wanted to hug him but never did.

Before, he had nothing. But now, he had everything. Susan had given him everything. Two fun, smart, kind, strong, witty, clever, amazing brothers and the wonderful little sister he had always wanted. She had taught him how to love and be loved. Other than his parents, he had never experienced the feeling of love or being loved for or from anyone else. He had always tried to convince himself that he loved Miraz but never could.

But now, his heart was bursting at the seams with love. He loved his new family more than he thought was ever possible and Susan…

There were no words to even begin to describe what he felt for her. He felt so many things when he saw her sometimes he was positive he was going to explode. She was his everything. Every dream he ever had every smile that ever spread across his face, every moment he was living. If he didn't have her, he didn't have anything. He wanted her, all of her, everyday, for the rest of forever. And no matter what happened to him or her or them, every moment he saw her smiling and felt her in his arms was the best moment of his life.

His contented sight escalated into a yelp when something big and hard flew out of nowhere and hit him square in the chest, almost knocking him totally off the tree branch altogether. A shoe. He heard malicious snickering and sniggering from down below and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. a wonderful idea crept into his brain and he twisted around and looked for the largest, hardest apple he could find and tucked it into his pocket. The gears in his head started turning when he spotted the neighboring apple tree-not a meter away from his hiding spot and quickly picked his way across the gnarled branches like a cat.

He laughed to himself as he came to the edge of his own tree and wrapped one arm around the other branch and swung himself across it, agilely landing between the boughs of a tree facing his soon to be brother in laws backs. He snickered as he settled himself comfortably between a fork in the trunk and pulled the hard shiny apple from his pocket and tossed it up in his hand. Perfect.

Caspian took his aim and chucked the apple at the back of Edmund's head as hard as he could. Edmund squealed like a little girl when the apple hit its target spot on and then rattled to his feet. Peter jumped a bit and then started snickering to himself.

"Was that horrible squealing noise coming from you brother? I thought Lucy had snuck up on us!'' he gasped between his laughter and Edmund glared at him. "Oh shut up. This apple just came out of nowhere and hit me in the back of the head!" he defended himself.

Caspian quickly picked his way down the tree and landed on the grass like a cat and very quietly snuck up on his two brothers, not making a single sound.

"'Evening, boys!" he said louder than usual, his mouth right next to Peter's ear. Both kings jumped and spun around so quickly they almost rendered Caspian toothless.

"Good God Caspian!Don't do that you jerk!" Edmund yelled, punching Caspian in the arm. Caspian grinned like the cat that ate the canary.

"I am sorry. I could not resist such and opportunity. Especially after that wonderful little squeal," he teased and Edmund puched him again.

"You are so lucky you're getting married tomorrow or you'd have a nice shiner to show my sister," he said wickedly and Peter smacked his forehead with the heel of his hand.

"Oh yeah, we have to go. Now." he said mishievoulsy and Caspian frowned.

"Alright then, have fun?"

Peter laughed. "By order of her Majesty Queen Lucy the Valiant, King Caspian X of Narnia is forbid to set eyes upon Queen Susan, that would be your fiance, until precisely the moment she walks donw the aisle with her devishly handsome escort, that would be me, tomorrow evening, for it would be horribly bad luck for you to see the bride to be until the wedding" Peter said in a very kingly voice, his face totallly serious but his eyes shining.

Edmund whined and stamped his foot like a little boy unsucessful in getting his mother to buy him something. "Come on, stop it with the 'Queen Susan, Caspian X, Lucy the Valiant' crap and get to the good part!" he whined, tugging on his brother's sleeve. Peter rolled his eyes and turned to his brother.

"Edmund, I'm getting there now cool it."

He cleared his throat. "Furthermore, by unanimous decision of the lovely Queens of this lovely country, King Edmund and myself, that's us, are to accompany you to the How where we will all be sleeping on the eve of this great wedding." he finished, his voice losing kinglyness and enthusiasm as he got to the part about sleeping in the How.

Caspian groaned. "Of course, because I didn't get enough experiance sleeping on the floor of the How.''


	3. The Wedding:Part One

**Disclaimer:I do not own Chronicles of Narnia or any of its character (Except Telmar's royal family and the plot). no profit is being made yada yada yade.**

**YEAH PART ONE OF THE WEDDING IS FINALLY UP! I just spent like three hours typing so i hope it is worth it.! and that's right, there is going to be two parts to this wedding because it is nowhere NEAR over! And as some of you probably noticed, i had to add on about half a chapter to the last one because this one is long enough as it is! over 5,000 words! And a shout out to my awesome fan ObsessedChick15 who you can thank for all of the names of the Telmarine daughters introduced in this chapter. The girls' names are all her creation but Tristan and Kasim are all mine! Oh and here are the ages:**

**Mariella-19 Tristan-17 Malicia-15 Arrabelle-13 Arianna-11. they are going to play a huge part in the story to come! Please please please please REVIEW! And without further ado, the Wedding:Part one**

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><p>"Father, why do we have to go to this silly wedding anyway?'' Princess Arianna asked her father for the fifteenth time. The royal family of Telmar was seated stiffly in their royal carriage on their way to the wedding of King Caspian X and Queen Susan of Narnia, an event the older two girls had been looking forward to since the announcement of the engagement. However, little Arianna was not so anxious. She did not quite understand why they had to go to this silly wedding of two people, or enemies as her father said, they did not even like or know. King Kasim shook his head fiercely at his youngest daughter's foolishness and his sharp black eyes bore a hole through her heart.<p>

"We have discussed this several times Arianna. At eleven years old it is high time you learn to listen when spoken to!" he barked and Arianna flinched slightly, feeling very stupid and foolish.

"How many times must we go over this! We are going to this ghastly wedding to keep an eye on that bloody traitor Caspian X. You may be royalty but you have the sense of a commoner! A princess your age should learn to hold her tongue!" he snapped at her angrily and tears welled up in the young princess of Telmar's eyes. She couldn't do _anything _right in her family's eyes.

She was constantly surrounded by four older sisters and one horribly arrogant brother but was the least loved by all. Except for her eldest sister Mariella that is. At least her sister's tried to stifle their hatred and scorn and anger towards her but her brother and her father were the worst, always yelling and criticizing and mocking her. Although second youngest by two years, Tristan thought he was so much more important than his useless sisters and knew everything just because he would be King of Telmar one day.

Although the middle sisters would never admit it for fear of angering their father, neither of the sisters had ever heard a single word out of their brother's mouth that was not cold and mean and offensive. Although Mariella, who was two years Tristan's senior, insisted that Tristan had once said 'I wuv u sissy," when he was two but the other sisters were not so sure. Tristan, of course denied it each time and said 'Mariella put him up to it'.

The oldest and kindest of the sisters very adamantly insisted that their was good in everyone and that someday, some way, Tristan would get over himself. Mariella liked to refer to it as 'The Great Head Deflate.' Ever since he had been old enough to understand he would rule and his sisters would not,every comment out of his mouth had been mean and scathing and brought his sisters to tears. His favorite comeback would always be 'father loves me most because _i _am the heir of Telmar's throne and _I _get to rule and _i _am far smarter than any of you dim wits could ever hope to be' or 'No one likes you' or 'you killed mother'. Arianna snorted. And to think, someday _Tristan _would be king.

And a horrible one at that, in her opinion. The two other sisters, Malicia and Arabelle, were just as bad. Always taunting and teasing and making scathing remarks to their youngest sister when Mariella was not present. Looking down on her with hatred and scorn because of something she could control.

Their mother, Queen Daria, had died giving birth to Arianna and her three siblings and father never seemed to forget it. Father was so caught up over the fact that his wife had given him four daughters but only one son and had perished bringing yet _another _useless girl for him to marry off into the world that he had been angry more than anything over her death. Mariella had of course been as devastated and heartbroken as an eight year old could be and Tristan had just been angry and did not understand why his mother would not wake up. Malicia and Arabelle had only been two and four years old so they were just as lost as Tristan. Only Mariella felt in total the reality of what had just happened. At first she was horribly angry at this new baby for killing her mother and taking her away but then she held the baby girl in her arms for the first time and saw her mother's eyes staring up at her and all traces of anger and scorn and hatred had melted away into nothing and been replaced by a love stronger than the eight year old princess could have ever imagined.

Mariella didn't think her father loved their mother at all really. She had asked him once and he just glared and told her little girls should be seen and not heard. Mariella was nineteen. She was not a little girl anymore. Why couldn't her family get it through their thick skulls that she was not some silly little tot to be quieted?

"Honestly Arianna, mother died for a dunce like you? Too bad that nurse didn't just let _you _die and save her instead!" Tristan snarled at her and Arianna burst into tears. Her little body shook and trembled as she pulled her knees up to her chest and sobbed into the lap of her pretty red dress. Tristan rolled his eyes and Mariella fixed her youngest brother with her icy stare and he wilted slightly under her gaze, an affect only Mariella and his father had on him.

"What? It's true! You remember just as well as do," he whined, shooting a glare at his pathetic excuse of an older sister. Mariella stood up from the cushioned bench beside her arrogant brother and looked him straight in the eye with her beautiful brown ones, which were glowing not with warmth like usual but with anger and frustration.

"What would mother think of _you_, you spoiled arrogant brat!" she said, her voice escalating louder and louder until it was shaking with furry. Even she was surprised at herself. She was always the sweet, soft spoken, optimistic, quiet, tender love and caring older sister who never raised her voice and never spoke harshly to anyone. But you can only stand for a loved one to be reprimanded and snapped at so many times.

At the insult of his only son, King Kasim sprang from his seat by the window and slapped his first born solidly across the face. She recoiled and bit her lip in pain but did not crumble and did not cry. Arianna's sobs only got louder and Malicia and Arabelle stopped gossiping and stared at their oldest sister, their hero, with wide eyes.

"How dare you address the future king of Telmar that way! Damn it Mariella, its time you learned some respect! Little girls are meant to be seen, not heard. And you will do well to remember it or the consequences will be greater next time. Understood?" he yelled at her face, his tone hostile and cruel. Mariella stood her ground and shook her head sadly at her father, staring into his eyes. He shuffled uncomfortably under her steady gaze. He HATED it when she did that, staring at him thoughtfully with her beautiful brown eyes, neither angry or happy.

"He makes your eleven year old daughter cry with his sharp words and ugly insults and yet I am the one punished? That is good justice to run a country on, don't you think?" she said quietly and turned slowly on her heal and plopped on the cushion next to her youngest sister, wrapping her arms around her and whispering nonsense to her like when she was little and had stubbed her toe.

Arianna buried her face in her sister's soft wavy dark hair and nuzzled into her neck. She wanted desperately to get to Narnia. Maybe she would belong there. Maybe things would be different.

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><p>"Caspian. Caspian. Cas, man, get up. C-a-s-p-i-a-n, did you hear me? CASPIAN! WAKE UP! You are getting married to my sister today so get up! I know you can here me. Dang it Caspian, you've had enough beauty rest to choke Sleeping Beauty so WAKE UP!''<p>

"Five more minutes..." the Telmarine King mumbled, rolling onto his side. Peter threw his hands in the air, exasperated.

He stalked out of the room small room of the How and over to where Edmund was trying to crack a walnut with his bare hands. "I give up. You try." he said in a dead pan voice. Edmund stood and cracked his knuckles. ''I think I have an idea." he said wickedly as he rounded the corner to the adjoining room and crouched down next to Caspian with a cheeky grin on his face.

"Caspian look, there's Susan in her underwear!"

"Where?" the Telmarine shouted, jumping to his feet and looking around the room wildly.

Edmund burst out into hysterical laughter, rolling on the floor, tears rolling down his cheek. Realization donned on Caspian and he blushed so hard his scalp burned and his whole body seemed to be turning red. He had never been quite this embarrassed in his whole life...

He blush deepened when he noticed Peter leaning against the doorway for support, laughing so hard he was spluttering and choking on his own saliva. His face was almost nearly as red as Caspian's from lack of air and he was holding his stomach. Caspian stared down at his boots, utterly mortified.

Caspian rolled his eyes.

"Okay okay haha very funny. You got me. Good one Ed."

They were still laughing.

"Alright get a hold of yourselves;it wasn't that funny" he said with a flicker of irritation.

"Oh yes it really was. Did you see the look on his face!" Edmund howled and then set the two brother off again. Peter finally hauled Edmund to his feet, still laughing. "Oh I can't wait to tell Susan." he said with a wicked grin and Caspian couldn't help but smile. "You do you die." he said in total seriousness.

Edmund's eyes finally stopped watering and he clapped Caspian on the shoulder. "I'm sorry brother, I could not resist such a perfect opportunity.'' he quoted and Caspian stuck a tongue out at him.

Peter walked over to the clothes bag and tossed each of them a long shirt and pants. "Okay we need to get moving so lover boy here doesn't miss his wedding. I don't think I would survive the wrath of the Gentle Queen if she had to wait at the altar for her groom to show." Peter said and in a matter of minutes the three brothers to be were on their horses riding back towards the Cair as quickly as they could go. Caspian couldn't stop smiling.

He was getting married to the most wonderful, perfect, spectacular, amazing woman in the whole world in a matter of hours.

* * *

><p>Susan bounced up and down impatiently in her chair in her underthings, waiting for Lucy to return with her dress. Weeks ago after standing on that bloody pedestal for two freaking hours getting her hips, breasts, waist, shoulders, feet, ribcage and arms measured, the design of the dress had been completely left up to Lucy. Susan had been going mad with curiosity for weeks, pondering and picturing what her dress would look like. She certainly trusted Lucy's taste and style and that Lucy would find something she knew Susan would like. And now Lucy and Gabriella had gone to go get the dress finally. The two sister had spent the last two and a half hours doing each others hair and makeup.<p>

Lucy had had quite a lot of fun picking a hairstyle for Susan before they both decided to just curl her hair a bit more than usual and leave it in long waves and curls cascading down her shoulders and back. Her chocolate curls were shinier and softer and bouncier and than usual and tumbled down past her breasts most attractively, as Lucy had so happily told her. Susan had allowed more make-up to be put on her than usual and was quite pleased with Lucy's crazy experiment with her eye makeup.

After they were done fussing over Susan and her make-up, it was Lucy's turn. Susan helped Lucy into her bridesmaid dress which was the a soft one-shouldered lilac colored dress, hugging her gradually more feminine torso and flaring out, tumbling to the ground in soft waves. She had never looked prettier. Considering it was a rather special occasion, Susan decided to put more makeup on Lucy than Peter would ever agree to. Susan herself hated the feeling of make up on her face but Lucy loved to wear makeup as it made her feel like her grown up self.

Finally, the last curls were in place and Lucy hopped off of Susan's bed. "Time to get your dress," she said with a mischievous glint in her gray eyes. And with that she took off down the hallway.

And so sat Susan, waiting anxiously to see Lucy's masterpiece. She couldn't wait to see it. Susan gave up on sitting still and started pacing fervently in her stomach had been in horrible knots all day and she was horribly, horribly nervous. What if Caspian changed his mind? What if she face planted down the aisle? What if Edmund spiked her drink? No, he wouldn't do that on such an important day...would he? No, not on her wedding. Peter's wedding maybe, but not hers. What if Caspian left her at the altar? What if he never showed up at all! There goes her heart rate again...

"I've got it," Lucy said, startling the pacing Susan. Susan whirled around and her breath caught in her throat as Gabriella helped Lucy to hold out the dress for Susan to see. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. It was the purest white, sparkling like snow and looked as soft as a cloud. The bodice was covered in beautiful pearl beads, swirling and curling and twisting across the sweet heart top. It was fitted and embroidered all the way down until the top of the hip where it flared out gracefully, tumbling down to the ground in soft, frothy waves. Little flower shaped clusters of pearl beads dotted the long full skirts of the dress and yet another long, curling, waving swirling strand of beaded embroidery danced around the hem of the dress. The dress itself seemed to absolutely glow. There were no words to describe everything she felt as she looked at this beautiful dress that finalized everything for her. She was getting married in less than a few hours.

Lucy was absolutely beaming and bouncing with excitement. "Do you like it?" she gushed enthusiastically. And Susan nodded dumbly, taking a small step forwards and carefully running her hands along the skirts. "Oh Lucy...it's...it's beautiful its wonderful it's...gorgeous...its perfect. Oh Lu thank you, thank you so much. You are the best sister anyone could ever have! Thank you so very very much," she whispered, throwing herself into her sister's arm, struggling to keep the tears from smudging her makeup.

Lucy smiled and hugged her back. "I am so glad you liked it. If you like it this much now, wait til we put it on you!" she said, patting her sisters back and setting to work on loosening the corset on the dress. Susan stepped into the dress and then Lucy pulled it up smoothly over her sister's hips and waist. She was just beginning on the corseted back and then dropped the tie, slapping her forehead.

"Oh my goodness, the shoes!" she cried and then flew across the room and slamming the door before Susan could stop her. Great. Now she had to wake until she came back to get her dress laced up properly. She pressed her hands against her chest, holding up her dress and walked idly over to the mirror. She heard a timid knock on the door and Peter's deep voice. "Are you dressed? Is it safe to come in?" he asked shyly.

"Oh goodness yes come in! I need your help!" she gushed and Peter threw the door open, Edmund trailing behind him. They both froze in their tracks when she turned around to face them. "Lace me up will you?" she said sheepishly.

The two brothers couldn't even speak for a moment. "Wow...you look...wow...just...wow...you look so...wow." Peter stammered nervously. Edmund just gawked at his older sister with an open mouth. He nodded dumbly. "You look so...beautiful...great...wow amazing...Caspian is one lucky guy," the Just king choked out lamely and Susan smiled shyly.

"Thank you. I hope he thinks so!" she said nervously walking towards Peter and spinning around so her bare back faced him. She slapped one hand across her breasts, holding up her dress while Peter began lacing and tying, sweeping her chocolate curls off of her neck. Peter's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and he stared blankly at the dozens of scars slicing across her back and the yellowing bruise smack in the center of her spine. His fingers went numb for a moment and he swallowed hard against the sudden tears that were clogging his throat. This wedding could have very easily been to someone else. And their could have very easily been several guards standing outside of the door and dragging Susan down the aisle.

"Thank you for going all the way out to the How with Caspian. I know how much you two enjoy sleeping on the floor," she smirked warmly and the two brothers chuckled.

"I almost didn't think we were going to make it. That fiancee of yours doesn't know the meaning of the word 'wake up' so I used a slightly different antic on your lovely lover boy..." Edmund smirked wickedly and Peter burst out laughing.

Susan raised an eyebrow and before she could even ask a flushed Lucy hurtled around the corner, dangling the prettiest shoes Susan had ever seen in the air triumphantly. "I found the shoes!" she sang happily, stopping to give Peter a quick hug and then holding the shoes up for Susan to get a good look at. The shoes were a beautiful creamy white with little beaded flowers dotting the heel and instep and top, a shiny bow perched neatly on the toe. They reminded Susan spectacularly of Cinderella's glass slipper.

Peter finally tied the last knot on her corset and turned her around to face him, tears in his eyes. "Just yesterday I was reading fairy tales to you before bed and now I'm lacing you into your wedding dress. Almost two lifetimes I've spent with you and I am still going to cry when you say I do." he said with a watery half smile. Susan smiled weakly and pulled her brother in for a hug, not expecting to be completely suffocated.

Eventually Peter let go and Susan sat on the bed where Lucy insisted on putting on the shoes for her. Edmund perched his big sisters crown on her head and they all gasped and gaped at how beautiful their sister looked.

"Caspian better keep and eye on you because there are going to be A LOT of jealous men at this wedding," Edmund teased with a smile and Susan smacked him playfully across the chest.

Lucy's eyes glistened with tears as she hugged her sister. There was a rough, loud knock on the door and Trumpkin came waddling into the room. His jaw dropped and the words clogged his throat at the sight of the little sixteen year old girl who had saved him (kinda) from drowning all those years ago, standing before him in a wedding dress.

"Wow..."

He was just as tongue tied as every man at this wedding would be. He swallowed hard and tried to stop acting like an idiot long enough to actually say something.

The four Pevensie's laughed and Susan blushed.

"Err, the boy um, well he wanted me to ah.." Trumpkin sighed irritated when the words stuck to his throat. "The Boy has had ants in 'is pants all day and wanted me ter make sure ye didn't skip out on him or some other dumb thing that would never happen. " Trumpkin grumbled and Susan paled. "So is it-?'

"Its time."

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><p>Susan was trembling and quaking as Peter looped his arm through hers and handed her her bouquet of white roses. She couldn't think, couldn't breathe, couldn't move. Peter was just pulling her confidently down the hallway while she stumbled along beside him. Her legs were Jello. She couldn't do this. She really, really couldn't. Caspian was just going to have to get married without her.<p>

"Peter I can't do this!" she wailed, clutching his arm desperately.

"Do not doubt yourself dear one. The strength inside you is stronger than any doubt." a soft, rasping voice announced gently and the four Pevensie's all spun wildly around.

"Aslan!" Lucy squealed and slammed into the Great Lion, nearly knocking him over in her enthusiastic. Aslan chuckled and touched his nose to the youngest queen's forehead.

"I knew you would come, I knew you would I never stopped thinking so for one moment!" she gushed, burying her face in his silky mane. He laughed. "And that is what brought me here my dear." he said softly.

Susan trembled more violently than ever. "You are not here to take us back are you?" she asked, tears forming in her eyes and her whole body numb with dread. No, please no, not today. Aslan would not be so cruel.

The great lion gently nudged Lucy aside and made his way over to the bride to be, touching his nose to the top of her head.

"I have caused you great pain once dear one. It would be cruel of me to repeat my greatest mistake twice over,"

"Things never happen the same way twice dear one. And I have come for quite a different reason." he said slowly. His big eyes were almost...sad. Peter shuffled uncomfortably.

"I am afraid you have all died in your world. There will be no going back to visit England and you are to stay here until the end of your days." he finished softly and Susan couldn't help smile at the glorious word although she did feel an agonizing stab of pain for a fraction of a second thinking of her poor mother and how alone and devastated she must be. How awful to lose all four of your children plus having a husband fighting in a war. But as soon as Aslan said the word 'husband' the guilt rolled off her shoulders.

The other three were silent for a moment.

Lucy sighed in relief. "Whew, I thought you were going to say we had to go back to that awful place!"

He ignored her and turned to Susan. "My dear daughter, what upsets you so? In all of my days never have I seen a love like the one that you share with King Caspian. I can promise you, you and Caspian will live happily for many years to come." he said and Susan looked down at her shoes.

"I do love him. Very, _very _much..." she whispered weakly. Edmund grabbed her shoulders and looked her straight in the eye.

"We went through the same thing with him and I am going to tell you the same thing I told him. He loves you. He is going to be there. And he is going to say I do. And he is going to take care of you forever. And you are going to live happily ever after so just calm down and enjoy your wedding day you big goof!" he said for the thousandth time and Susan smiled.

Aslan chuckled. "I could not have said it better myself. Now if I may be so bold, it would give me great pleasure to perform the wedding ceremony. I hope I would not be intruding on your wedding day," he said, his whiskers twitching.

Susan nodded fervently. "Oh yes, please do! I am sure the minister would gladly step aside for you!'' she said with a smile. "Then I suggest we continue. We would not want the bride late for her own wedding.'" he said turning and continuing proudly down the hallway, followed by the best man and Groomsmen (Edmund and Trumpkin) and maid of honor, (Lucy) and the bride and her usher. After what seemed and eternity to Susan, they arrived at the huge double doors leading to the Garden, where the wedding was to be held. Peter squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek, tears in his eyes.

"This is it." he whispered to her as Edmund threw open the double doors for Aslan and the great Lion emerged from the double doors, his golden mane glowing. An enormous collective gasp filled the air and every one scrambled down to their knees to bow before the great Lion. A few of the Telmarines started shrieking and a most deafening cheer erupted from all of the Narnians. )And yes, some of the lords protested fauns and minotaurs and satyrs attending the wedding but were quickly cut down by Caspian.

They had actually only invited only two hundred or so people out of the seven hundred but had let the word be spread that all Narnians were more than welcome to attend the wedding.)

Aslan merely nodded and continued down the aisle proudly, finally reaching Caspian who bowed and smiled ecstatically at him. The Telmarine minister bowed deeply and stepped down into the crowd for the great lion who stood proudly on the altar, waiting to begin the ceremony, dazzling the entire crowd.

Next came the maid of honor (Lucy) and then the best man (Edmund) followed closely by the groomsmen (Trumpkin). Edmund took Lucy's arm, leading her down the aisle, Trumpkin following close behind. Caspian whipped his head around at the sound and gave a huge sigh of relief. Lucy was absolutely beaming and was struggling to not run down the aisle squealing to hug Caspian. Edmund gave him an encouraging wink and looked meaningfully over his shoulder and than nodded at Caspian. He smiled at his best friend and soon to be brother. His whole body was tingling and the butterflies in his stomach were starting to make him sick. He couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't move!

Edmund took his place on the first step beside Caspian and Trumpkin while Lucy took her place opposite of Edmund. Caspian's legs were shaking and the anticipation of finally seeing his bride was tearing away at his heart like a ravenous claw.

And then he saw her. If he hadn't known he couldn't have told you who walked her down the aisle. As soon as the skirts of that white, soft, BEAUTIFUL dress peeked out shyly from around the corner, his heart stopped completely and the every guest in the garden melted away into nothing. All he saw was her. He had never seen anything so..so radiant, so dazzling...so sweet and so pure. So delicate and so fragile. Her beauty made his mouth dry and his head sway. He was pretty sure he was drooling before six hundred foreign dignitaries but he couldn't have cared less. She was so, so...beautiful didn't even _begin _to cover it. Lovely, gorgeous, stunning, breathtaking, amazing, wonderful, amazing, exquisite devine...no, none of these words even came remotely close. His cheeks were beginning to burn from his huge smile. He probably looked quite the fool but all that mattered was her. And she was getting closer and closer to him, looking at him with her radiant smile and eyes full of excitement and love. And in a matter of moments, she was going to be his forever.

After what seemed like decades, Susan and Peter reached the first step of the altar and Peter gently unlooped his arm from hers, tears swimming in his eyes. She had tears in her eyes too as she looked at her brother, her saviour and her protector. Her shoulder to cry on and her pillow to hug. Her big brother. She threw her arms around him, squeezing the breath out of him and nuzzling her face into his chest.

"Just because I'm getting married doesn't mean I love you any less. I will _always_ need my big brother to protect me," she whispered into his shirt and he hugged her tighter, a single tear slipping down his cheek and splattering on her hair. Those were the exact words every brother needs to hear. "I love you Peter," she whispered and he smiled through his tears. "I love you too."

She pulled away, tears still in her eyes and squeezed his hand as he kissed her forehead. He glanced over at Caspian. "Take care of her Caspian,'' he whispered and Caspian nodded dumbly, his eyes still fixed on his bride. She climbed the two small steps and stood beside him, smiling radiantly with a lovely warmth in her lovely blue eyes. "You look...wow...just-just...wow," he stammered and she threw her head back and laughed queitly, taking his hand in his hers and twinng her fingers with his.

Aslan smiled. "Today we are gathering in this sacred place of this sacred palace to honore a sacred bond. A bond that cannot be broken. Not by hatred, not by cruelty, not by jealousy, not even by death. A thing so pure that it can not broken. And i stand before you today, joining this man and this woman in the bonds of marriage forever. These two young people have endured inconcievable pain and suffering and yet their love still survives. Their love still glows brightest in this world of light. And it is not for the reason of peace treaties or political ties but by the stongest, purest thing in the world. True love. I was here when this world but nothing but darkness. I was there when the first flame of light illuminated the dark world. i was there when the first flowers sprang from the ground and the first babbling brook bubbled out of the earth. And still in all of my days I have never seen a love so pure and true and real and strong as the love shared by this man and this woman. Their love is so strong it changed the course of not only their lives and the lives of their loved ones but the lives of all of you and your loved ones. A love so strong and so powerful that it changed the course of two worlds." he turned to Caspian.

"King Caspian X, the Telmarine who saved Narnia, do you take this woman as your wife? To cherish and love and protect for all of eternity to the best of your ability?" he said with a warm smile.

Caspian turned his head to look at Susan, the love of his life, his world, his everything, his love. "I do."

"And Queen Susan the Gentle, do you take this man as your husband? To cherish and support and care for and love to the very best of you ability?"

"I do."

Aslan bowed his head and smiled. "I, Aslan, Emperor over the Sea, name these rulers of Narnia man and wife. Caspian, you may give us the pleasure of kissing your wife. May today be the first of years of wonderful memories to come.''

He smiled at the young couple and leaned forward to breath on the couple. The soft puff of air send so much peace and warmth and strength through the couple that every trace of nervousness or worry that had ever existed in their minds vanished without a trace. It was almost as if nothing could ever go wrong again. For that one moment, that one amazing, fabulous, perfect moment.

Caspian stroked her cheek with the back of his hand and twined a hand around her waist. "Forever." he whispered as he pressed his lips into hers, fire and passion and desire burning and seering his whole body. A low, quiet moan escaped his lips and Susan reluctantly pulled away from him before it became inappropriate in front of six hundred people. She blushed and threw her arms around her new husband's neck. He laughed and spun her around in the air, laughing and smiling. The crowd erupted in ecstatic cheers, shouts and wishing for the best ringing across the garden. Caspian pulled her in for another kiss and she reciprocated with as much enthusiasm. Susan almost could not hear him over the thunderous shouts and yells and roars and grunts and bellows when he said "I love you." hotly into her neck. she stroked his hair and stretched up for another kiss. "I love you too," she said.

Caspian wrapped his arm around her waist and together they took their first steps ans husband and wife. Caspian sighed and pulled her closer to press a kiss to the top of her head. "I never want to be without you."he said into her hair. She smiled and cupped the side of his face with her hand an stared into his eyes with her distractingly beautiful ones.

"Every day you have been near me was the best day of my life."


	4. The Wedding:Part Two

**Yay part two of the wedding! Whew is my brain tired! so here you have it, wedding part two. Focuses a lot more on the Telmarine royal family, especially Mariella ;) i worked very very hard on it and I hope you all like it ! Please R&R i really appreciate it and it makes my day. Literally. i really love hearing your guys' thought on what i have posted!**

Mariella stood watching from beside her sisters as King Caspian twirled around his new wife, his eyes filled with love and affection and joy. Queen Susan rolled her eyes playfully and threw her head back and laughed as he pulled her back into his chest, his eyes dancing and laughing. The song slowed down just a bit and Queen Susan sighed happily and rested her head against his shoulder while he stroked her hair and whispered sweetly in her ear, his arm snaking around her waist and pulling her scandalously close to him. Mariella smiled softly at the newly wed couple. They were so...in love. She could see it in their eyes, their sweet touches and by the way they looked at each other. King Caspian-his eyes! Oh they just lit up when she walked in a room and she was amazed at the intensity and love she saw in his eyes while he danced with her. He just looked at her like she was the the only thing in the world. But it was a fierce sort of love she saw in his eyes; like she was his lifeline and without her he would die. She pitied the man to triffle with Caspian's wife.

And Queen Susan! Oh she was so tender,loving,sweet and gentle to him! Mariella could almost feel the tenderness from across the room whenever she stroked his hair or wrapped her hands around his neck. They were so sweet together. So very very much in love. She had never even met them but yet she still couldn't help but tear up at their wedding.

"Do you see that? The way he watches her? The way he touches her? He is very much in love with her." Kasim whispered quickly to Tristan, disgust written in his eyes. Mariella looked at Malicia and they rolled their eyes. He spoke of the new couple's love as if it was a crime! Tristan nodded curtly, his eyes fixed on Susan.

"She is very beautiful. I would very much like to bring her home to Telmar with us," he said suggestively to his father and Mariella's jaw dropped.

"For goodness sakes Tristan! She's thirteen hundred years older than you and she just got _married!_ I may be mistaken but I do not think King Caspian is going to allow you to steal his wife away to Telmar!'' Malicia said in an awe struck voice and her father shot her a dirty look.

"Hold your tongue! Show some respect for your superiors. Someday your husband's family is going to tire of you smart mouth and that will be the end of you!" he snapped at Malicia and she recoiled slightly. Mariella put a protective arm around her oldest sister's shoulder, kissed the top of her head and shot Tristan a withering look. He paid no attention to her and again fixed his black eyes on the bride. She was so very pretty...

"If ever we need to cause our dear traitor Caspian X pain all we need do is threaten his wife," Kasim said thoughtfully to Tristan and all four sisters gasped.

"_Fa_ther! they just married now leave them be! They did nothing to us so why can't you just leave them alone? Would it kill you to let someone be happy for once?" Mariella said reproachfully and immediately regretted it. His face flamed and he advanced on her so quickly she couldn't even move.

She had only seen her father so angry a handful of times and this was one of those times. He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him until his gnarled, hard face was inches from her sweet beautiful one."I have told you once and I will not be saying it again. If you cannot hold your tongue there will be consequences. If there were not so many people around here you would be an excellent example. We will speak about this later. I want you out of my sight. Now." he said through his gritted teeth, his eyes black coals. Arabelle whimpered slightly in the back of her throat and Arianna clutched Malicia's skirts reflexively. The little princess thought she saw a flash of concern and maybe even guilt on Tristan's snub face but in a blink it was gone.

Mariella's large brown eyes dulled a bit and lost some of their caring sparkle. She dipped her head curtly. "I am sorry Father. I meant no disrespect towards you." she lied quietly through her teeth. Kasim's eyes softened just the slightest bit. "Go. Now. We will discuss your lack of respect later. In private" he said in a slightly less hostile voice. She glanced hopefully at her sisters and turned on her heel, walking calmly away from her family and onto the dance floor.

* * *

><p>Peter was enamored. Infatuated. Captivated. He simply could not take his eyes off her, this Telmarine princess. He as well as Susan and Caspian had been quite surprised when they received a letter from Telmar stating that King Kasim would be attending the wedding, if it was alright with the bride and groom, along with his four daughters and son. Narnia hadn't heard anything important from Telmar since Caspian the Conqueror and they were all thoroughly shocked and a little apprehensive to meet the royal family of Telmar. According to the Professor, King Kasim had visited Miraz a very long time ago, before the death of Caspian's mother.<p>

But now, as she wondered around the ballroom, looking quite shy and unsure of herself, Peter could not keep his eyes off of the eldest princess. She was so very very beautiful, with her dark, black wavy hair tumbling down past her ribcage in beautiful long, loose curls, perfectly tan skin, ruby red lips and dark, long eyelashes fringing her eyes. Oh and her eyes...! So very very beautiful. Her eyes, her big brown, beautiful innocent eyes, sparkling with warmth and...something else.

Her orange strapless dress fit her just right, hugging her curvy torso all the way down and flaring out slightly in frothy orange waves of silk that swirled around her legs when she walked. Red embroidery dotted the bodice and full skirts, seeming to leap off the fabric. Besides his sisters of course, Peter thought she was the most beautiful woman at this wedding, hands down. Something about her just RADIATED kindnesss.

He sincerely hoped he hadn't scared her off and that she hadn't noticed him staring continually at her. He simply couldn't help it. And it wasn't just her beauty that drew him to her. It was mostly the look in her eyes. The warmth and tenderness and intelligence he saw in her eyes are what held his attention most. And as she weaved her way through the dancing couples, smiling apologetically and asking them to beg her pardon, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of anger at the looks of the lords she was catching the attention of. The High King sighed dreamily. She was so thoughtful and considerate. And he didn't even know her name! It was something beautiful he was sure...

* * *

><p>"Are you having fun my love?" Caspian whispered sweetly in her ear, twirling her out onto the dance floor and smoothly pulling her back into him, perhaps a tad too close to be appropriate for the amount of people present. She kissed him softly as a response and then laughed at the expression on his face. "Only the best day of my life!" she said, her voice bubbling with sincere pleasure.<p>

He smiled cheekily at her. "And it will only get better as the night goes on," he whispered hotly in her ear and she shivered. Her husband spun her around and once more and they kissed just as the song ended. Everyone in the immediate vicinity burst into wild applause and the two monarchs smiled at each other and blushed. They hadn't sat out on dance tonight. Caspian refused to dance with anyone besides Lucy and his wife while the only men who dared cut in to dance with the Gentle Queen were her brothers (as they did it mostly to annoy Caspian). Caspian had already danced thrice with Lucy as Peter insisted on dancing twice with his lovely oldest sister and Edmund had to all but beat him with a stick to get him to let go of her so he could dance with her.

Caspian growled playfully in the back of his throat and Susan cocked her head. "Hurry, I think that lord is going to ask you to dance. Let's go get something to drink. Quickly darling, I know it's hard to run in heels but you don't realize what is at stake! He is quite good-looking," he said urgently, grabbing her elbow gently and beginning to tug her towards the drink table. She threw her head back once again and laughed so hard Caspian seriously feared she was going to choke to death. Several people turned to stare and smiled delightedly seeing their queens happiness and assumed it had something to do with her husband. Nearly a minute later and Susan was still laughing hysterically and Caspian was beginning to seriously worry about her.

"Love, breathe. It's alright. It would be horribly tragic if you suffocated from laughter on our wedding day. Really sweetheart it was not that funny," he said, patting her on the back to install the breath back in her body. She finally looked up at him, her eyes sparkling and her cheeks red.

"Oh darling, it wasn't that, it was the spectacular look on the lords face when he heard you," she said and then broke into another fit of uncontrollable giggles. He blushed horribly and then his face paled slightly. "Oh, well. oh..." he said sheepishly and Susan hugged him. "I love you," she said casually, still laughing and he hugged her back, kissing the tip of her nose like a little boy. "Did I ever told you how stunningly, radiantly, dazzlingly, incredibly beautiful you are. Every woman here is green with envy," he said and she blushed.

"I believe you have my dear husband. More than once." she replied playfully.

Caspian stopped walking abruptly and quite suddenly threw his arms around Susan and lifted her in the air, twirling her around. Susan was utterly surprised and laughed wholeheartedly, hitting Caspian on the shoulder haphazardly. He buried his face in her stomach as he marvelled at the feeling of his arms around her slim waist. Every muscle in his body burned with happiness. He was here, at his wedding to the woman that was so beyond anything he ever dreamd of that it physically hurt to think about it. They had been through so much heartache and pain together and here they were, twirling and laughing and dancing at their wedding.

She laughed and laughed until Caspian finally put her down only to sweep his arms around her and pull in her in for a kiss deeper than any he had ever shared with her. He let out a soft moan in the back of his throat and Susan gently placed a hand on his chest and pulled away, ducking her head in embarrassment before the thirty or so guests that had all been watching their little moment. Caspian, however, only had eyes for her and seemed not to care.

He twined his fingers through hers and they began walking towards the drinks but just before he could pour her some whine, a cold hard clipped voice reached his ears and he bristled reflexively.

"Ah Your Majesty, it has been so long!'' King Kasim of Telmar said with fake amicability. Caspian turned around slowly, painting a smile onto his face. ''King Kasim. I am so glad you could make it to our wedding. I have yet to meet your daughters and son but I am looking forward to it greatly." he said through his teeth. Something about this man irked him horribly...

"Yes, last time I saw you you could scarcely whipe the drool off your chin," he said, the smile falling off his face and replacing with a grimace. Caspian bristled and his fists balled but he felt Susan's gentle touch on his arm and he relaxed instantly. Kasim turned to Susan and grabbed her hand roughly and pressed his cold lips to the back of it, making Susan flinch and Caspian put an arm around her shoulder. He thought he saw her eyes flicker with fear but in a moment they were smiling again.

"I congratulate you from the bottom of my heart my fair lady. The stories do not do you justice, you are much lovelier in person," he said in a syrupy voice and Susan thanked him and dipped her head.

Kasim straightened himself and a cruel glint shown in his eyes. "I was very sorry to hear about your uncle's assassination. He was a great friend of mine," he said, dangling the subject of Miraz right in front of the younger man's face. Caspian tensed and took and aggressive step towards him but Susan discreetly grabbed his belt loop and pulled him back a bit, rubbing his arm reassuringly.

Caspian's vision went black at the edges and he felt and overwhelming wave of rage wash over him. His eyes flashed like fire and his whole body was trembling with rage. "He killed my father. He was nothing but a liar and a murderer and I hold him in disrespect second only to those who kill children," he spat through his clenched teeth.

(The royal family of Narnia had been thoroughly disgusted and appalled and horrified when the news of a new bill allowing children of traitors to be murdered in Telmar reached their ears.)

Kasim's long, hard, strangely pale face remained calm and serene and in fact he chuckled at the silly young king, making him even angrier. Once again he reached for Susan hand and sandwiched it between his two long, knobby ones. He could see the irritation flicker in Caspian's eyes and pressed his cold lips to her hand once again, leaving his lips there a moment too long. His face twisted in to a grin as he watched Caspian squirm and wriggle with what he assumed to be jealousy but what something else entirely...

"My dear lovely lady, I do not believe you have met my son yet, am I correct?" he said in a sickeningly fake voice and Susan shook her head politely.

"I am afraid I have not had the opportunity to meet any of your children. Or your wife, I am most anxious to meet her. She sounds lovely from the tales I have heard." she said sincerely, politely pulling her hand out of his. She could feel Caspian trembling with rage beside her.

"Indeed. My wife died eleven years ago, giving birth to my youngest daughter," he said his nose crinkling with what could only be described as anger and disdain.

Susan automatically patted his shoulder "Oh I am so sorry!please pardon me, I-I did not know. Oh I am sorry, really I am, how awful, you're poor children!" she said sympathetically and Kasim's face scrunched up in disgust.

"I thank you for your sympathy, quite an awful thing it was. Imagine, four daughters and only one son! 'Tis a crime truly, to have to marry off four daughters whilst only one worthy heir survives! My poor son, surrounded only by the company of silly females." he said bitterly shaking his head and both Narnian monarch's eyes widened in disbelief.

"I was referring to the death of their mother! It must have been quite hard for them!" Susan said through her clenched teeth. This man...horrible! Had he no heart at all?

"Oh, why yes, I suppose that was a trifle emotional for them." He said the word daughter like most say a curse word.

Susan bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming at the womanizing idiot.

"Anyway, my son, Prince Tristan, is quite looking forward to meeting you my dear. You see, in his tender years he hath never seen a woman whose hair was not jet black and whose skin was not browned by the sun. He, like every man in this room, has heard many tales of your great beauty and is quite interested and...curious, if you will'' he said with a cunning, suggestive smile and Susan's stomach flipped a bit.

"He declares it would be the greatest pleasure of his life to dance with such a great beauty as yourself. He is around your age if I am correct, 17?" he said with a toothy smirk and Susan nodded dumbly.

"Excellent, now if you would excuse us I would like to speak with your husband about country matters. Allies, borders, military trades, nothing that would interest you I am sure," he said, his scarred, sharp gnarled face twisting into a fake smile, (which looked nearly identical to a normal person's grimace). Both monarch's bristled and Caspian growled in the back of his throat. Susan raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, because I only ruled this country smoothly for fifteen years with my siblings. Obviously country matters do not interest me at all!" she said frigidly, bowing icily to Kasim and then walking briskly away to find the princesses of Telmar. She very much wanted to meet them but had no desire whatsoever of meeting Prince Tristan. She thought she spotted the eldest princess, Mariella she believed it was, and just started to walk towards her when her brother stood up from the table quite gracelessly and started walking towards her with a nervous smile, fidgeting with his clothes. She grinned to herself as he bowed clumsily at her feet and offered her his hand. She laughed and Peter smiled, leading her out onto the dance floor just as a waltz started up. Oh Peter...

* * *

><p>"So um, Princess...?"<p>

"Mariella."

"Mariella," Peter repeated slowly, mulling over the beautiful sounds in his mouth.

"That just may be the most beauiful name I have ever heard," he whispered, enchanted by the beautiful sound in his mouth.

The beautiful Princess smiled and ducked her head in a blush. "Well I don't know about _that," _she mumbled and Peter laghed, twirling her out across the dance floor and then pulled her back in smoothly, enjoying immensely the way her dress fluttered about her and swished across her legs most attractively.

"You know, I have always wanted to go to Narnia and now that I have, I don't think I ever want to leave!" she said brightly and Peter smiled at her and chuckled.

"Oh and why is that? What about Telmar?" he said, clearly amused and Mariella grimaced.

"Ugh, Telmar. Don't get me wrong, I am somewhat...attached to Telmar; it is where I grew up, where my mother grew up, where my friends are but its just-argh!" she said frustrated, throwing her hands up exasperatedly and Peter raised an eyebrow at her unladylike grunt of anger. Her eyes filled with passion and purpose and soon she was rambling and speaking with her hands and shaking her head so vehemently Peter almost had to stop dancing.

"It's just that-argh I can't even explain it! It's like everyone is out to get everyone all the time and everyone is at eachothers throats _all the time_! And every one is so full of treachery and insincerity they can't even see clearly! It's like, like no one can trust anyone ever and everyone is always pretending to be something they're not and trying to worm their way into the government. Oh and the laws! Totally barbariac! Ridiculous!" she lowered her voice slightly and leaned towards Peter until her lips were a few inches from his ear, making Peter absolutely crazy. How he wanted to kiss her...

''There is a law there that the children of thiefs and those convicted of treason are subject to murder," she whispered in his ear, tears in her eyes. Peter shook his head disbelievingly. "Thats-Thats- thats -_awful._ You cannot punish a child for a crime a parent commited." he said. How barbaric!

Mariella nodded fervently. "I know! I have tried everything to get my father to repeal that horrible law but he will not budge," she said with a lost look in her eyes. Peter furrowed his brow.

"Your father does not listen to your imput on the subject? You are the eldest princess, surely you have a say in something?"

She snorted, "You don't know my father." she said sadly and Peter reached out and stroked her cheek without thinking. Her skin was so soft and so looked up, surprised but then a sweet, lovely smile crept across her face. Peter blushed furiously as jerked his hand back, mortified by his own boldness. "um, sorry," he said uncomfortably and Mariella blushed and looked down.

"Uh, its quite alright.' she mumbled awkwardly right as the song ended. Peter bowed and kissed the back of her hand, staring in her eyes the whole time, his lips lingering perhaps a moment longer than necessary. She was so amazing...

"Where is your family staying the night?" he asked curiously and Mariella's heart gave a little flutter. He was so amazing...so sweet and considerate and handome and sweet and sweet and considerate...and sweet.

"Um, well I am not exactly sure...my father is not one for thinking things through exactly," she said sheepishly and Peter's eyes lit up. "

"Oh! Well then by all means stay here! We have plently of rooms for you sisters and brother and your father! Please, it would be a great honor for you to stay in our home, I insist," he said brightly. Mariella smiled radiantly at him.

"Why that is very kind of you! I shall speak to my father immediately! Are you sure you have enough room? I assure you I would be most content to sleep on a couch in one of my sisters rooms if need be." she said courteously. Peter's face looked very glum all the sudden.

"No, I will not have that. You can take Susan's bedroom, after all she will not be sleeping in there from now on..." he groaned and Mariella blushed very deeply and Peter clapped a hand to his mouth, horrified.

"I beg your pardon that was very inappropriate I-" she cut him off and put a finger over his lips. His heart almost stopped. She was touching his lips.

"I will speak to my father about it. That is a very kind offer. Now if you will excuse me, my sister needs me," she said with a giggle, gesturing to a young girl no more than fifteen who looked like she was trying to gather up the courage to ask Edmund to dance. Acting on impulse, she leaned in and kissed Peter's cheek and then reared her head back almost immediately, her face bright red. Peter felt like he might faint. "Well, bye!'' she said like an idiot and scurried off, mortified.

Peter stood in the middle of the dance floor, grinning like a fool, his cheek burning from where her soft lips had brushed across his cheek. She was amazing...

* * *

><p>"It is a horrible turn of fate that we had yet to meet until your wedding day. Otherwise I am sure this wedding would have turned out quite differently. Perhaps with a different groom, if I may be so bold," Tristan said arrogantly with a grin as he tightened his grip on her waist.<p>

Susan raised an eyebrow and moved his hand up to the small of her back. "I think you have already excersiced your right to be bold my Prince," she said, struggling to be diplomatic and firm but also polite as not to anger King Kasim. He laughed

"Forgive me my lovely queen.I have never seen someone so beautiful in my life. I am not normally so charming. Wait, yes actually, I am." he said arrogantly and then laughed, shaking his hair and shooting her a smile she assumed was supposed to make her swoon but made her want to vomit instead. She had never met anyone so cocky in her life and THAT was saying something.

"Are you always so...sure of yourself?" she said as politely as she could manage. She really couldn't stand this man. He was so full of himself and cocky and arrogant and proud and...creepy!

He totally ignored her and was staring quite blatantly at the scar on her collarbone disappearing into the sweetheart top of her dress. "There is such a shortage of perfect breasts in this world, it is a shame someone should have the nerve to damage yours," he said smoothly, tracing his fingers along the dark scar on her collarbone and trailing of right before the bare hint of cleavage peeking out from her dress. Susan eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She grabbed his hand in a vice like gripp and stepped away from him, disgusted and angry.

"How dare you! I do not know how it is in Telmar but here it is neither tolerated, nor..appropriate for a young man to flirt so openly with a woman on her wedding day!" she almost said hotly, stalking hurriedly away from the arrogant prince, fuming and seething. That vulgar little pig! Thank goodness Caspian hadn't heard his comment or they would be at war by tomarrow...

* * *

><p>"Hello love, did you enjoy your dance?" Caspian said softly embracing Susan and rubbing soft circles on her back. Susan hugged him back, sighing happily into his shirt and looked up into his gorgeous brown eyes and grimaced. "Ugh, I do not care for Prince Tristan at all dear. He is so...arrogant" she said, making a face like a little girl who doesn't want to eat her vegetables.<p>

Caspian laughed and leaned in to kiss her when a very drunk Peter walked up and threw an arm around both of them.

"Hey guys how's the party! Lots of pretty girls her huh...'specially those Telmarine daughters eh?" he slurred, his head lolling onto Susan's shoulder. "You look so pretty tonight sissy...white's a good color on you, veeeeeery pretty," he said drunkenly and Susan giggled, ruffling his golden hair.

"Thank you Pete, you look very pretty too," she said and Peter blushed and batted at her earing like a cat. "Well I don't know about that but thanks sissy," he said slurred and Caspian clapped him on the back with a laugh. Drunk Peter was much less uptight than sober Peter.

"Dang it, hurry up Lucy we're missing drunk Peter! You can eat later this is _drunk Peter _we are talking about Lu!" Edmund called over his shoulder, running up to his sister and her new husband, panting.

"Whew, I have been looking all over for him!" he looked at Susan and Caspian with a cheeky grin and Susan cringed internally. Here came the wedding night jokes...

"Wow, its Mid-night already and you two are still hanging out here instead of in Caspian's room! I'm surprised! Trumpkin and I had a bet that you two would turn in as soon as you said I do. I thought for sure you two would be skulking up to Caspian's room as soon as Peter wasn't looking. He's been downing red whine and brandy all night, trying to forget about it,'' he said with a wicked grin. Susan blushed.

"Oh, and by the way Caspian, I'll have you know I want a nephew first. I would have absolutely nothing in common with a little niece; I could barely figure out how to play with Lucy. So, if you have a daughter with my sister first, I will be forced to have you removed from our family," he said as seriously as he could manage but the expression on Caspian's face was priceless. Susan's bare shoulders were red and Caspian had started choking. It's bit early to thinking about _that _wasn't it?

Peter's head shot off of Susan's shoulder.

"No way in hell is there going to be any of THAT until there is a ring on that finger!" Peter slurred quite drunkenly, picking up Susan's hand and his eyes bugged out of his head when he spotted the ring on her finger. He was so drunk he had completely forgotten that he was actually at his sisters wedding.

"Um Peter. She's already married." Edmund said with a smirk, amusement at his brother's pain and his sister's embarassment shining in his dark brown eyes.

Peter looked at his sister and his face crumbled. "Oh my sweet sister! Why, why are you doing this to me sissy! My sister all grown up and moving into a different bedroom!" he wailed quite loudly as he was quite tipsy. He grabbed the whine right out of Edmund's hand and drank deeply from the cup, leaving a red whine mustache on his lip. "I don't deserve to be consious right now..." he slurred and with that he passed out and slid to the floor quite gracelessly, falling under one of the tables.

Caspian and Edmund were cracking up with hysterical laughter, pointing and jeering mockingly at the 'middle brother'. Susan smacked Caspian's shoulder.

"You're horrible,'' she said through her smile, bending down and helping her brother to his feet. "Edmund I think he has had quite enough now go take him upstairs to bed. He will be complaining enough from his horrible hangover and I don't need him complaining about sleeping on the floor."" she passed Peter off to Edmund who kissed her cheek to her surprise. "Considering you two will probably be sneeking off to your new bedroom any moment, I'll say my goodbyes now. Goodbye!"

* * *

><p>"Are you tired yet?"Caspian whispered in Susan's ear at around twelve thirty when all the guests were clearing out. "No but I do want to retire," she said with a smile and Caspian grinned at her cheekily. "We simply cannot annouce it, we would never make it out alive there would so much commotion. Come on, out this way," he said, grabbing her hand and leading her out a small servants door she didn't even know was there, perhaps because of the strategically placed plant in front of it. Her heart was pounding in her chest as they finally came to the large oak door leading to Caspian's chambers. He stopped and turned to her, cupping the side of her face and resting his forehead against hers, staring tenderly into her eyes.<p>

"We do not have to my love. I know what happened to you is still very very fresh in your mind and I wouldn't dream of pushing you into anything before you were ready," he whispered, his concern for her touching her heart. She stretched out on her tip toes and slammed her lips into his, pouring out every ounce of love and passion in her body into it.

"I love you.''

"I love you."


	5. The First Day of Always

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Chronicles of Narnia blah blah blah on with the show.**

* * *

><p>Susan's eyes flitted open and she blinked at the light streaming in through the window. She glanced around the room groggily and then turned onto her eyes snapped open. The light was supposed to come in from the other direction. These curtains were all wrong; she didn't even have curtains! This pillow was much fluffier, the comforter much more worn in and the mattress much softer. It even smelled different, so...intoxicating, like warm leather and cinnamon and the woods and the sun and fresh grass...<p>

She sank back into the pillow and inhaled deeply. Oh that smell, how she loved that smell. It was so delicious and the room seemed to be filled with it. The comforter, the pillow just reeked of that delicious smell. And that could only mean one thing. She turned her head when she heard something moving and her heart just about melted into a gooey puddle on the was Caspian stretched out asleep on the bed next to her, her _husband. _In an instant the wedding played in Susan's head.

Lucy doing her makeup, Peter lacing up her wedding dress, Trumpkin waddling into the room fidgeting with his dress clothes, Lucy holding out her shoes, Aslan reassuring her that they would be staying forever, Peter squeezing her hand when it was her turn to walk down the aisle, the look on Caspian's face when he saw her in her dress, the tears in Peter's eyes when he was giving her away, Aslan giving the speech about true love and the moment, the most wonderful moment of her life, when they finally became man and wife.

She sighed and gently traced Caspian's jaw. They were married. She was _married. _This was what the rest of her life would be like, every morning. Every day would be this wonderful. She marveled at how peaceful and innocent and..._beautiful _Caspian looked when he was asleep; his hair messy and ruffled, a soft smile on his lips. He looked so peaceful and sweet and care free. She carefully traced his jaw and the side of his face with the very tips of her fingers. He was so beautiful...

The Gentle Queen moved her fingers to ghost across his bottom lip with the very tips of her delicate fingers. Caspian finally stirred, letting out a contented hum in the back of his throat. He brought his strong fingers to the top of his head, ruffling his already tossled, messy hair, only making him even more adorable. And he was already so cute...

His big beautiful eyes fluttered open and a huge grin broke out across his face while he gently closed his big rough hand around her small delicate one and turned her palm into his lips, planting a soft kiss to the middle of her hand. She smiled and his grin threatened to cut his face in half.

"I think I would like to wake up to this every morning, wife," he said softly, his eyes staring into her with unfathomable intensity.

"Well, get used to it my sweet husband," she rasped, squeezing his hand and rolling on her side to face him. He closed his eyes, breathing in the scent that unmistakably Susan and relishing in the word that had just came out of her beautiful mouth.

"I think...that just may the best name I have ever been called." he said with a happy sigh, sinking into his soft mattress.

She laughed, the sound making Caspian's heart warm and his heart flutter slightly. He shook his head. He was bloody married to her and he still felt like a silly schoolboy around her sometimes! He scooted closer to her and rested his head in the crook of her neck, nuzzling his face into her neck and tickling her cheek with his wavy hair sticking up all over his head, not that it didn't always look that way. She sighed and stroked his tousled locks with her fingers absently.

"Oh darling you are so very sweet," she said with a happy sigh, causing Caspian to cuddle up even closer to her and bury his face into her neck even more.

They newly weds just lay there together like that for a while, snuggling together and occasionally talking about their family and childhood, laughing about the massive hangover Peter should be experiancing right about now.

"Well, he did have nearly three goblets of that faun made wine and that stuff is very very strong. I remember once Edmund talked me into drinking a goblet full with him as I had never tried it and as I was the only one of us older three who didn't want to be drunk as a log when practically all of the Archenlandian court was staying with us. Anyway, I knew how strong it was so Ed coaxed me into just sharing a goblet full with him and I remember just how tipsy it made me. Although Edmund did get quite a kick out of it. He declares me drunk is the funniest thing he has ever seen and got into a nasty habit of trying to play drinking games with me or spiking my drink. I cannot imagine how drunk poor Peter must have made himself." she said sympathetically but Caspian couldn't help but laugh.

"That just doesn't seem like Peter to me. Edmund hands down but not Peter. I mean, besides you, he's the responsible one!"

Susan snorted. "You would not have thought that if you had lived with us during the Golden Age," she said with a smirk.

Nearly a half hour later the two royals were stilll snuggled up under the covers, laughing hysterically and simply enjoying the first morning of this wonderful life they were beginning with eachother.

Tears were rolling out of Susan's eyes and she was having a hard time breathing. "So what did she do?"

"Oh, after I called her a bumbling boisterous boring brown cow?" Susan threw her head back and laughed, nodding vehemently.

"She kissed my forehead and told me to finish eating my applesauce and get dressed or she would get Prunaprismia to do it for me," he said casually and Susan started laughing like a mad person, causing Caspian to grin even wider at her happiness.

"Goodness you must have been a handful!"

He grinned. "I was. I will never forget the frantic look on my nurse's face when I was four and ran off to the highest tower when she wasn't looking. Those steps were quite a feat for a four year old but I think I only mangaged to fall down about fifteen of them or so. Man mother and father were_ frantic_! They assembled all of the palace guards and sent out a massive search party for me." he said with a smile and Susan swatted him across the chest.

"You handsome little devil, making your mum worry like that! I swear, you and Edmund are the same person! He once ran off in the supermarket when he was three and a half and Mum _was hysterical_! She was sobbing and wailing and running around like a chicken with her head cut off for hours until she found him sitting by the fruit stand, sticking three oranges in his mouth. She about had a heart attack."

Suddenly, an enormous, rumbling sound filled the air and Caspian looked wildly about the room while Susan blushed crimson.

"What in Aslan's name was that?" he said, almost in a panic and Susan's blush deepened. She looked guiltily down at her stomach, Caspian's eyes following her gaze. He grinned and chuckled.

"Was that you my love? Did that wonderful rumbling sound come from your tummy?" he said, leaning down and blowing a raspberry on her stomach. She bust out laughing, Caspian's favorite sound in the whole world. It took her a few moments to stop, Caspian enjoying her embarrassment far too much. "Are you really so hungry, dear wife?" he asked with a touch of concern in his voice. She nodded sheepishly. "I was too happy to eat much last night." she replied.

"Well then, let us fetch some breakfast," he said flopping onto his other side and _rolling _across the bed much to Susan's amusement. Unfortunetly, he turned his head to smile at her at the wrong moment and rolled just a bit too far. He flailed in mid air for a moment and landed on the ground with loud thump.

"COOOOOOLLLLLLLDDDDD!" he yelped, jumping up from the ground only to get himself tangled in the sheets and fall yet again onto the cold stone floor. Susan was laughing hysterically at the wonderful sight before her, King Caspian X, the Seafarer, the Telmarine who saved Narnia, fiercest warrior in the country, wrestling on the ground with their own sheets that were tangling around his legs...and apparently the sheets were winning. Susan barried her face in her hands, gasping and spluttering for breath.

She finally caught her breath, rolled her eyes and crawled across the bed on her stomach, peering over the edge of the bed and whisking the sheets off of her husband. He stopped flailing immediately and just a hint of blush appeared on his face.

"I, uh..meant to do that?"

"Of course you did dear,''

"I did! And those sheets didn't get the best of me, not by a long shot!"

"Of course they didn't honey."

"And I didn't fall."

"I know you didn't sweetheart."

She got up and started rummaging in her suitcase, throwing on some thin corsettish type undergarments and throwing a robe on over it. She ruffled her husbands hair on the way out the door to get breakfast. He started to get up to get dressed but she held up her hand.

" I'll get it love. Although I am not looking forward to facing Edmund but he won't be so bad if its just me. You stay here and...settle your differences with the sheets," she said almost wickedly.

"Don't walk away from me!" he said with mock panic in his voice.

"That's not what I am doing at all." she called out over shoulder.

* * *

><p>"So, King Edmund, how are the Telmarines and the...Narnians faring living together?" Kasim said, his voice dripping with disdain. He said the word 'Narnians' like most would address a particularly hairy and quite large spider.<p>

Edmund bit the inside of his cheek to keep from groaning. He really couldn't stand this man, or his bloody son. His daughters seemed quite lovely though. Very sweet, polite and kind and very pretty as well...

"Well, things were a triffle...tense for a while but the two...cultures have come together quite nicely. They appear to be quite happy with living next door to their long time rivals," he said evenly. He was dying with boredom on the inside.

Curse Peter for his hangover. Now with Su and Caspian hauled up in Caspian's room, it was just Edmund and Lucy holding down the fort. The Royal family of Telmar had ended up staying in the Cair and had insisted on joining the Narnian royals for breakfast much to Edmund's dismay. He wouldn't mind it so much if Kasim and his pig of a son would stop trying to make everything so bloody difficult.

The second youngest daughter, Arabelle he thought, cleared her throat and looked at Edmund shyly. "So, um your majesty what is your world like?" she asked with a slight blush, batting her eyelashes at Edmund. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Longest breakfast of his life.

He took a sip of water and opened his mouth to answer when he heard light footsteps coming down the hallway and in a moment Susan whirled around the corner, yawing and sctatching the top of her head in a rather undignified manner. Edmund almost barfed as he realized just how little his sister was wearing, only some thin undergarments (worn undernearth daily dresses, only reaching to about four inches above the knee) and apparently she had forgotten to tie her robe.

Edmund forgot he was not only with the family and was in fact surrounded by foriegn dignitaries and covered his eyes in an over dramatic gesture. "Ew Su put some clothes on, my eyes are burning!"

It was only then that Susan looked up and she froze immediately. There they were, the entire Telmarine royal family, seated at their table with their forks positioned halway to their mouths; excluding Tristan whose eyes were bugging out of his head and his tongue was nearly unfurling down to the ground.

Her cheeks turned a wonderful shade of crimson and she quickly looked down and her blush deepened. She had never _felt_ so embarrassed!

"Oh. Hello," she stammered, fumbling with the tie on her robe and hastily tying it around her scantily clad self.

She could have heard a pin drop in the quiet room. She stood frozen in the doorway with a terrible blush on her face. Her scalp was burining and her shoulders were growing red. She turned to Edmund, her teeth clenched.

"You didn't tell me they were staying with us Edmund." she said through her teeth, shooting daggers out of her blue eyes. She was quite aware of the gleam in Tristan's eyes and the way his tongue was lolling out. He was making her quite uncomfortable, not to mention Kasim's cold piercing black eyes. She shuddered and Edmund snickered.

"Well my dear sister, I thought you would be otherwise occupied with your husband this fine morning so did not feel the need to inform you about our guests joining us at breakfast," he said wickedly, though being diplomatic at the same time. Dang, his big sister just walked into the dining room _practically in her underwear_ the morning after her wedding night and he couldn't even unleash his massive hoarde of wedding night jokes because of the stupid Telmarine royal family! This was such a wonderful opportunity! The only thing that would make this any better would be if Peter was there...

Susan blushed furiously and her eyes widened at her brother's comment. She couldn't even speak she was so mortified.

"So sorry, I was not aware that you would all be staying with us tonight...not that I am not delighted with your presence here. Of course, if I had been aware, I would have most definetly put on something...else." she stammered _very _awkwardly. Edmund bit his cheek until the blood flowed, the urge to make her blush further almost too powerful to control. Even Lucy was struggling not to giggle.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way!" Tristan blurted out of the blue and Susan raised an eyebrow. Edmund's expression changed utterly and he gripped the table until his knuckles turned white.

"I think you should consider yourself lucky my brother is not present at this breakfast _Prince _Tristan." the Just King said through his gritted teeth, his eyes flaming.

"Control yourself!" Kasim snapped at his son for what was perhaps the first time in Tristan's young life he had been reprimanded by his father.

Arianna snickered and Mariella laughed nervously, pushing out her chair and walking over to Susan with a smile gracing her face.

She surprised Susan by stretching her out for Susan to shake, as was the form of greeting in Telmar. Susan grasped her hand and Mariella took it entthusiastically, grabbing Susan's hand with both of hers.

"I am so happy to finally meet the legendary Queen Susan! I am so excited! Your older brother insisted that I stay in your old bedroom, I hope that is alright," she said, her lovely face scrunching up with worry. Susan laughed nervously.

"But of course. I am honored. It is wonderful to meet you!"

Mariella leaned in to Susan descreetly. "Sorry about my brother; he was dropped on his head a lot as a baby," she said with an apologetic smile and Susan grinned.

Mariella gestured with her hand and all of her sister stood obediantly. "These are my sisters; Malicia, Arrabelle and Arianna," she said, waving her hand regally at each sister who curtseyed politely and smiled.

"I am very pleased to meet all of you. King Caspian and I were quite interested when we recieved your father's letter annoucing the arrival of his lovely daughters," she said politely.

Kasim stood from the table abruptly, slightly startling Lucy.

"Indeed. We were quite interested when we heard of you marriage to that trai- um, King Caspian. I had not seen him since he was a very little prince," he said icily. There was an awkward pause. Finally, Edmund couldn't take it any longer.

"Where's lover boy Susan? Is he waiting for you upstairs!" he blurted out and immediately regretted. That was _definetely _not something to be said in the presence of Mr. Frigid and his son Prince Sexist Pig. He clapped his hand to his mouth.

"Edmund!" Lucy reprimanded sounding a touch hysterical. Kasim's eyebrows shot up and the princesses all blushed and shuffled uncomfortably.

Susan's eyes were wide and her jaw set. She was now sincerely, utterly, hoplessly, absolutely, positively mortified!

"Actually I just came down to get some breakfast for the King and myself if that is alright with you brother," she said in a strange voice and Edmund's cheeks colored, feeling much like a little boy who had been scolded by his as much dignity as she could possibly manage she walked stiffly to the table and started to load up two plates with plenty of bacon, sausage, toast, pancakes and eggs, eight pairs of eyes fixed on her.

"Dearest, is everything alright? You have been down her for quite some time, did you need help carrying anything?" a deep hispanic voice asked and Caspian whirled around the corner, his hair still ruffled and his shirt in his hand. He froze when he saw eight pairs of brown eyes fixed on him.

The three oldest queens all blushed violently and quickly averted their eyes to their plates, Malicia and Arrabelle giggling horribly. Caspian blushed furiously and stood in front of the royal Telmarine family, half naked and in his sleeping pants. Susan groaned and looked up at the ceiling, silently asking Aslan why her embarrassment couldn't stop here. Edmund had to clasp both hands clasped over his mouth, trying desperately to keep himself from laughing hysterically and Lucy was stuffing a muffin into her mouth as quickly as possible to avoid laughing like crazy. Oh if only Peter were here...

Peter had this spectacular habit of showing up when someone was thinking about him. And so, quite unsteadily, in waltzed a very hungover and very unbalanced Peter into the dinind room full of foreign dignitaries. However, in his EXTREMELY hung over state, the high King of Narnia failed to notice the presence of anyone else in the room except for Caspian who was standing in the doorway the morning after his wedding, shirtless. He groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Why? Why are you doing this to me? First you ask permission to quart my sister, then I caught you two snogging in the hospital room, then you get married, and then the wedding night, are you mocking me Cas? God, its like you're _photo shopped!_ Married or not, it's still my sister." he said in a rather slurred voice, swaying on his feet. Caspian's blush deepened and he slowly started to pull on his night shirt, covering his scarred torso and red shoulders. The Telmarine princesses giggled again, making him blush further.

It was only then that Peter saw the entire Telmarine family, staring at him wide eyed. But he was too hung over to care. His head was absolutely _splitting _and this was not helping at all. And then he saw his sister and groaned again.

"Susan, put on some clothes please," he said and she blushed crimson for the umpteenth time that night. Why her.

This was just too much for Edmund who starting to laugh uncontrollalbly.

Kasim cooly took a sip of his water and narrowed his eyes at that traitor Caspian X.

_Yes, laugh while you can oh Just one; laugh while you can._

* * *

><p><strong>Wow. I am so sorry for the wait! I was in a really depression mood and thus my new story 'Down the Rabbit Hole' was born. It is quite depression but take a look at it! anyway i feel awful for the unusually long wait and am not particularly happy with this chapter but i hope you all like it:)<strong>

**Review review review!**


	6. Deck the Halls

The month of November passed peacefully in Narnia, the changing leaves swirling and twirling happily in the wind. The presence of the four lovely Telmarine daughters only made the early winter that much more pleasant for the Pevensies, although the same could not be said about Kasim and Tristan.

The two male monarchs were quite anti social and seemed to try very hard not to bump into any of the monarchs (although Tristan had taken to following Susan like a lost puppy much to her husband's irritation).

"I swear, if he asks her to take a ride through the garden one more time I am going to rip his face off and feed it to the giants!" he seethed to Edmund one cold morning on the first of December. It was quite early in the morning and usually (on the very rare occasions he woke before her) Caspian loved to lay awake and watch Susan sleep, waiting patiently for her to open her eyes and smile, getting his day off to a good start. But not today.

Caspian, who was, as a Telmarine, built to withstand scorching deserts and blistering sun, detested the cold. Especially snow, which was falling lightly this fine sub zero morning, dusting Narnia with its intricate light flakes. Caspian loved snow in some ways, he thought it was just about the most beautiful thing in the world and loved how peaceful and beautiful and calm it made Narnia look. Plus, it was just about Susan's favorite thing so how could he not like it? He really did…he just hated that it was cold and wet and…cold.

Anyway, the small cozy fire in their bed chamber had blown out in the middle of the night and he had woken up absolutely SHIVERING under his two pairs of pants, wool shirt and thick socks. He couldn't help but fantasize of the glorious fireplace in the common room and the thought of the wonderful warmth he could create in the fireplace had been too tempting. Very reluctantly, he slipped out of the nice toasty covers, kissed his sleeping wife on the cheek and tiptoed down the hall to the little makeshift family room.

And who should he meet but Edmund, stretched out in front of the fire, sipping a cup of chocolate and reading a book. He laughed when the blue lipped, shivering Caspian shuffled into the room, clearly frozen.

"You Telmarines are such WIMPS when it comes to snow," he said shaking his head. Caspian rolled his eyes and swatted him.

"Move over. Trust me, I need the fire more than you do." Caspian sprawled himself face down on the warm rug, humming happily at the wonderful warmth the fire filled him with. Edmund snickered and Caspian groaned.

"What, did Prince Nasty Creep kick you out of your bedroom? It must be getting pretty crowded in their with poor Su and you two breathing down her neck" he said wickedly and Caspian's blood boiled. He growled low in his throat, his fists instinctively clenching. Not at Edmund at that-that boy! Since the incident of several months ago, Caspian had become _fiercely, fiercely _protective of Susan and had trouble letting any man beside the Professor and Trumpkin near her.

"I know. He looks at her like a starving man looks at a piece of meat. I have lost track of all of the times he has asked her to take walks or go riding with him. He is making her quite uncomfortable, she is just to polite to say so. I swear, if he tries to do anything to her I'll rip his head off, prince or not." he growled fiercely, for once in his life sounding like the perfect Telmarine.

Edmund's face changed to one of utter seriousness. "You two have been married for nearly a month now, for Aslan's sake he was AT the wedding, he has to realize that he is not just competing for her affections amidst several suitors; she's kinda already taken. And she is madly in love with the husband she's got," he added for good measure. Caspian smiled ruefully.

"The way he watches her...it sets my teeth on edge. He just _stares _at her so openly, as if there are not rooms full of people watching him! I'm very tempted to sick Trumpkin on him. He is Susan's new favorite third wheel." he said, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"The last time the slick little git asked her to accompany him into the city she told him she had to go change into something more appropriate for riding and came back with Trumpkin all ready to go. Tristan was not too pleased. Apparently Trumpkin watched him like a hawk. And he rode his horse in between them several times when he thought the ruddy pumpkinhead was getting too close. He would never admit it but he is about ready to bite the head off of any man that gets more than two yards away from either of the girls. He really cares about her, the little softy." he sneered playfully. Edmund chuckled.

"He is quite the teddy beat isn't he? Around the girls? I could have _sworn _he actually hugged Susan at your wedding. _He_ hugged _her!_ And he wasn't even tipsy or anything. I was amazed! The only person I have ever seen him hug was Lu!"

Caspian laughed openly. "Oh yes. He is part guard dog, part teddy bear,"

"Part teddy bear huh? You wouldn't happen to be talking about my dear little friend Trumpkin now would you sweetheart?" Susan said playfully from her spot leaning in the doorway, looking quite lovely for it being so early in the morning.

"How long have you been standing there?" Edmund asked through a massive yawn.

''Since 'he really cares for her,' "she said grinning. Caspian perked up immediately and sat up. She smiled.

"Good morning darling. You sure got up early." she said, kissing his forehead and settling herself cozily in his lap. He looped his arms casually around her waist and pulled her closer, kissing her neck briefly. She giggled and Edmund gagged.

"Ugh spare me the sweetness," he complained though his eyes were warm. Susan grinned and snuggled up closer to Caspian, nuzzling into his neck. She frowned and glanced up at him. "Darling are you really so cold?'

He nodded, his chattering teeth making Edmund snicker.

"You have not _seen_ cold until you have had a snowball fight with the boys in this family."

Edmund rubbed his hands together evilly. "Oh yes, now we have new prey. It gets old pummeling the girls. Except that time Pete stuffed a snowball down your shirt. I don't think I have even been as scared as I was when you got after him," he shuddered and Susan scowled.

"Stupid Peter,_That _is why Peter and I are never on the same team; its just too much fun to throw snowballs at him." Caspian chuckled and kissed her hair. Edmund rolled his eyes.

"Get a room," he snarled and Susan rolled her eyes.

"You know Ed, one of these days YOU are going to have a girlfriend and all those years of teasing me about suitors are going to come back and bite you on the butt,"

He snorted. "Girlfriend? ME? Yeah right, like that is ever going to happen. The pretty ones never have a personality, the ones that have a personality aren't pretty, the three percent of pretty girls that do have personality don't have the right one; It's just a lose lose situation Su. " he said sarcastically. He saw 'the look' in her eyes and momentarily panicked. He was only joking!

"But you don't have to worry about that because you're pretty...and you have a personality...sometimes," he said quickly and ducked as an abnormally large pillow came flying towards his head.

"Edmund Pevensie you take that back! Well, not the part about me being pretty, that was kinda sweet but the part before that! Goodness Edmund when did you turn into such a _boy! _'The ones with personality aren't pretty' how dare you! You are so-argh you are such a guy Edmund!'' she said throwing her hands up in frustration.

Edmund sat up and fluffed his collar as pompously as he could manage and tilted his nose skywards. "The beauty of any other woman could not even be hoped to compare to yours my queen," he said arrogantly in a perfect imitation of Tristan. Caspian couldn't help but laugh but stopped when he caught Susan's glare.

"Oh shut up you little creep. And don't ever call me pretty again, I am so sick of hearing it from that little stalker! And if I hear about my eyes _one more time_!" she said and Edmund raised an eyebrow.

Edmund looked Susan up and down. "I don't think he's looking at your eyes Su."

Susan's cheeks turned a fabulous shade of crimson and she hefted herself out of Caspian's lap and ran over to the couch where her little brother was sitting and launched herself on top of him, tickling him mercilessly. Caspian laughed hysterically at the sight of his beautiful wife sitting on her brother's stomach, tickling his arm pits and sides mercilessly. Edmund spluttered and choked and cackled like a hyena, batting at his sister helplessly.

Finally, when Susan's gentle side kicked in and she feared for her brothers suffocation she stopped tickling him. "Oh...Susy, thats a wonderful idea...'next time Tristan...tells you...you're pretty...sit on his chest in your nightclothes...and start tickling him,...that'll show him," he gasped between breaths, tears running down his face with the image o fthe look on Caspian's face.

Susan blushed furioulsy and Caspian was almost choking on the rage welling up inside of him at that idea. "There will absolutely without a doubt be no tickling **whatsoever**!" he roared and Susan's blush deepened and to her surprise so did Edmund's, who suddenly found his face inches from her chest. He shook his head and the blush vanished.

"Su, when you tackle Tristan and start tickling him to death do me a favor; don't wear that shirt. The neck line is too low, especially when you lean forward like that. I think I just lost my appetite...permanently."

The awkard moment was covered by exuberant, high pitched squeals booming down the corridor. "Susy Peter Eddie Caspian! Wake up wake up its snowing!IT'S FINALLY SNOWING! Come on its time to play, its time to play wake up, come on love birds its time to wake up!Peter, come out come out and play!"

Lucy was running barefooted down the hallway, squealing and knocking loudly on each of her families doors and then turned around and started her rounds again. Susan blushed one more time and got off of Edmund's stomach, offering him a hand and helping him get up. She stuck her head out the common room door.

"I think we beat you to the punch Lu."

Lucy whirled around and sprinted down the hallway laughing, barreling into her sister and almost succeding on knocking her flat. Susan laughed as a very messy, very groggy Peter stumbled out of his bedroom, his robe wrinkled and his hair sticking up at all angles. Lucy moved on to hug her other brothers and Susan gave Peter a one armed hug when he passed her. "Ew. You really do need your beauty sleep huh?" she teased. He scowled at her. "Don't make me make Caspian a widower."

Lucy dashed back out of the common room with Caspian and Edmund in tow. "Come on come on! Off you go, move it or lose it! Go get put on your warmest things so we can go play in the snow! C'mon Peter move it or lose it!" she demanded and skipped back to her chambers.

With a significant amount of groaning, Susan grabbed Caspian's hand and dragged him off towards their room.

"Go on and get dressed, I'll be there in a minute love. I have to get some things from my old room."

Seconds later Susan pushed open the door to her bedroom and gasped. "Oh, I'm sorry! I forgot you were staying here! Really I did not mean to intrude, I just need to grab a few things, don't mind me," she said nervously. All four Princesses were huddled up bythe small fireplace in Susan's room, absolutely shivering.

Mariella stood hurriedly. "Oh your Majesty! I am so sorry, we'll leave you alone." she said through her chattering teeth and Susan frowned and touched the older princesses arm. "Oh, dear you are absolutely freezing! And don't be silly; you are a guest in our home. What's mine is yours. We're friends are we not?"

Mariella couldn't hide her grin. "I would very much like to think so your Majes-erm, Susan."

"Excuse me sweetheart, I need to get in that drawer Arianna. Thank you," she said brightly, grabbing several thick dresses and pants as well as her winter boots.

She was just about to take off to find Caspian when she paused in the doorway and turned around smiling. "I know how...unaccustumed you all are to the cold but my family and I are going out to enjoy the snow. Would you-would you like to join us?" she asked Mariella kindly and her eyes lit up and the youngest gave a squeal of delight and clapped her hands. Malicia and Arrabelle looked horrified at the idea. "You mean out there! In the SNOW! Why on earth would anyone go out there, its freezing!" Arrabellle said, wrinkliing her nose. Mariella's eyes widened.

"Arrabelle!"

"Well its true!"

"I am so sorry she didn't mean to be disrespectuful she just-"

Susan waved her hand carelessly. "It alright. Do not walk on eggshells around me, everyone has a right to speak their mind."

"So would you like to join us?"

Malicia and Arrabelle shook their heads rapidly, their eyes huge. "If you want to freeze your crown off that is fine by me. I am staying right here where it is nice and warm." Malicia said and Arrabelle nodded fervently. Mariella rolled her eyes and turned to Arianna who was bouncing up and down with excitement.

A silent conversation passed between them and Mariella smiled. "Arianna and I would love too. But I am afraid we did not bring anything warmer that what we have on." her brows wrinkled and Susan took her hand and started leading her and Arianna down the hallway. "Between Lu and I, I am sure we can find plenty for the two of you."

* * *

><p>Fifteen frantic minutes later the four princesses of Telmar were sitting quite stiffly in the family room at the Cair, feeling very excited about playing in the snow but very nervous, like they were invading their special family area. Susan flopped down onto the carpet in front of Edmund's favorite chair with a contented sigh. The four princesses sat rod straight on the impossibly comfortable couch, feeling as if they were intruding horribly. Susan looked at their perfect posture and fidgeting fingers and sighed.<p>

"You can relax you know. I promise a painter is not going to pop out from around the corner and start painting a portrait. Relax, sit down, make yourself at home. This is a place for family. Just relax. I promise my husband is not going to yell at you for wrinkling his favorite pillow." she said and they giggled.

Eventually they started to relax and the three young women chatted animatedly for a few moments, waiting.. Finally the other three monarchs bounced in, though a bit reluctantly on Caspian's part. They were very surprised to see Telmarine daughters sitting in their family room talking quietly to Susan.

Peter's tongue went dry and his feet seemed to disconnect from his body when he saw _her_. He mentally cursed himself as he stumbled over the leg of the chair and nearly landed in her lap, making her giggle profusely and blush a bit. Peter's family had to try very hard to keep straight faces. Mariella stifled a giggle to Peter's horror. "Don't worry, girls think its cute when you trip and mess up around them." Lucy whispered in his ear and Peter's face turned slightly pink.

Peter tried to say something to the beautiful princess before him but only a big gust of empty air and if we are being honest, a tiny bit of drool, came out. Susan had to fake a fit of coughing to hide her laugh. '

"Shall we?" Lucy said quickly, desperate to try and prevent Peter from starting one of his famous babbles. Edmund and Caspian grinned impishly and made kissing noises at Peter the moment the princesses were out of ear shot and then turned around quickly to follow the girls down the hallway.

They all started walking back down the hallway and Susan smiled when Peter put his arms around her shoulder and kissed the top of her head.

"What was that for?"

"I'm apologizing early. Boy are you in for it!"

* * *

><p>"Wow. I don't think I have ever seen anything so beautiful."<p>

"It would be a crime to go romping through it and mess it up," Lucy breathed and Peter nodded. "Can you imagine it like this always, for a hundred years?"

"NO, sweet Aslan anything but that!" Caspian cried in a panic and Lucy sighed.

"Ohhh Caspian come on! Look, isn't it pretty! Don't be such a baby, its lovely out here!" Lucy squeeled, running back to the entrance and trying to drag Caspian outside into the snow. He grumbled and yanked his arms away, burying his head further into the scarf Lucy gave him. The two princesses were standing similiiarly, huddled up together behind Caspian's broad back and as far from the snow as possible.

The other three Pevensies were standing on the very edge of the snow, entraced by the beautiful sight before them. Narnia, the most beautiful country, was even more utterly, amazingly, bewitchingly beautiful than usual. Several great pine trees were dusted with small flakes of snow and swaying slowly back and forth in the breeze. Althoug the sky was dark and gray and there was not a trace of the sun but the sparkling of the untouched blanket of snow was almost blinding. It was dead silent and the delicate little flakes were swirling and twirling around in the sky, wafting through Susan's hair and sticking to Edmund's lips. She giggled.

"That is quite the manly moustache you've got there brother," she said. Edmund grinned impishly and swiped the snow off his lip and blew on it as hard as he could and a flurry of little quite flakes flew into her face. Edmund took off running through the snow, fearing the wrath of the Gente Queen who aimed a snow ball at the back of his head, hitting it spot on. All reluctance to ruin the untouched snow was gone and the snowball fight had began.

Edmund yowled like a panther as a clump of snow slid down his back. Susan instantly jabbed a finger at Caspian and before he knew it, a cold lump of sub zero snow smashed against his face. He screeched like an owl as the coldness seeped down his shirt and clung to his face. Lucy giggled madly at the horrible look on Caspian's face and got a head start gettin out of throwing range. He gave Susan the death glare and she scream-laughed, scrambling after her brother who had just aimed a snowball at her but had hit Peter instead. He growled and started flinging snow at Lucy, who had somehow tripped over her own feet and was laying on her back in the snow,making herself only too easy a target.

Caspian took off after his wife and wrapped his arms around her from behind, lifting her up and swirling her around while tickling her sides. She laughed and screamed and kicked the air but Caspian wouldn't let her go. A few Edmund iniciated snowballs and pebbles in the snow later and Caspian was laughing hysterically and laying on top of Susan, walls of snow billowing up on either side of him. His heart gave a little flutter. She was so beautiful with her pink cheeks and smiling lips, delicate flowflakes stuck in her dark hair. He loved her so much it almost hurt. And just think, all those years ago during the Narnian revolution he would have about had a heart attack to find himself in this position. The thought of the first time he saw her and a grin threatening to cut his face in half appeared.

And she was smiling up at him thinking exactly the same thing. He was so handsome with the snowflakes in his wavy long hair and perfectly chiseled face. And those eyes...she had spent entire days in England thinking solely about those dark brown eyes. For goodness sakes she was married to the man and yet she still lost herself in his eyes and felt her palms sweating just like she had during the Revolution. When their story started.

They must have layed their together for a lifetime, staring into each others eyes and soaking up the feeling of being...together. Caspian lifted his finger and gently, almost absently, traced his finger along the deep white scar on her creamy chest. Her eyes didn't move from his the whole time. He could feel the memories of _that man _playing quietly before her eyes but nothing in her face changed. Her hand didn't shake, her fingers didn't trembled and her eyes didn't glass over. And so Caspian smiled. Because she wasn't afraid. He was laying on top of her in the snow, just like that man had, and she wasn't afraid of him. She didn't flinch when his fingers moved along her scar and she didn't cringe and pull away. She just lay there in the snow, smiling and looking at him like _that. _In that way that made his heart flip and turn and his legs tremble. And the world of snowball fights continued on around them, the two just laying there in the snow, smiling at each other.

Finally Caspian couldn't take it any longer and leaned down and kissed her. In the whole world there has been five kisses that are so sweet and pure that not even faith can touch it. This one left all of those in the dust. (AN: yes i am paraphrasing the princess bride. Deal with it.)

"Foul!Caspian's kissing the enemy!FOUL! No fraternizing with the enemy traitor!Pe-ter Caspian's kissing Susan in the snow-ow! He's breaking the ru-ules!" Edmund whined, pointing accusingly at the couple. Peter groaned melodramatically and walked over to the couple, aiming a snowball at the back of Caspian's head which exploded all over him and his wife.

"Remember that kissing rule we talked about? That applies to when i can't see you. And Ed's right, no fraternizing with the enemy traitor!And that encludes kissing, stupid sister snogging Telmarine." he growled playfully and kicked several pounds of snow onto the couple.

"!" Caspian screeched like a leapord and jumped off of Susan, frantically digging at the snow sliding down his back. Even the princesses stopped to laugh at Caspian and Arianna used the distraction to toss a snowball at Edmund and then started squealing madly when he turned around, scurrying behind Mariella for protection.

"If you were not my wife's brother i would KILL YOU!" Caspian roared as he pulled his smiling wife to her feet. Peter growled and tackled the older king in the snow, causing Susan (who was still in Caspian arms) to lose her balance and grab Arianna for support and soon the three oldest monarchs and princesses were all laying in the snow, laughing madly. Mariella just couldn't stop. In Telmar, it seemed almost a crime to laugh and she just let out all the laughter she had been supressing pretty much since Tristan turned into such a jerk.

"Here, let me help you," a deep voice whispered and she stared blankly at the gloved hand extended towards her. She could feel her heart speeding up and her palms sweating the in freezing cold snow. It took a second for her brain to work and she grabbed the big hand, floating on cloud nine as he pulled her to her feet. His green eyes never once left hers. The stayed like that for perhaps longer than necessary, grasping hands. Peter opened his mouth to say something but suddenly a great deal of snow exploded into the side of his face and Lucy started laughing like the possessed and running away.

Peter dropped Mariella's hand and started running after his little sister, throwing almost an unfair amount of snowballs at her.

Soon enough the old teams broke up and turned into a ruthless boys against girls fight to the death. Both princesses had spectacular arms so although the would never admit it, the kings were certainly taking a beating. Finally when Arianna started coughing and Lucy started to turn blue they kings and queens and princesses made their way back to the castle, absolutely frozen solid. Poor Caspian could scarcely move his face.

They all made a beeline to the kitchen where warm cookies and bread and seven hot cups of chacolate were waiting for them.


	7. Christmas in Narnia

**okay so i know i deleted that winter chapter because of the whole review thing but when i started to try and write the next chapter, the whole timeline thing as far as the plot goes was totally messed up so i decided to add back in the original chapter six as chapter six and this chapter as well. I feel totally stupid but i feel that leaving it was the right decision all along and it is going to work out so much better with the timeline and stuff so yeah. I am SO SO SO SO SO SO sorry for being so confusing but i hope you like this chapter! you would not believe how hard i worked on it. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: i only own the plot and OCs.**

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><p>T'was the week before Christmas and all through the palace, no a creature was stirring, not even a Mouse. The stockings were hung by the fireplace with care in hopes that Father Christmas soon would be there.<p>

King Edmund was sprawled and nestled in his bed while visions of Turkish Delight danced through his head.

King Caspian slept so soundly in his bed curled against Queen Susan all cuddled and snug in their bed, his chin rested on her head.

And Lu in her kerchief and Pete in his cap had just settled their brains for a long winters nap. When down in the kitchens there arose such a clatter. The kings sprang from their beds to see what was the matter. Away to the stairway they flew like a flash, tore down the hallway and barreled in like a slash.

The moon on the top of the new-baked cakes gave the luster of hunger to the kings below. When what to their wanderings appear but a miniature pie and eight tiny cakes, with the frosting so sweet and thin and they knew in a moment it must be for them.

More rapid than eagles three courses they came, and they whistled and shouted and called them by name….

"Caspian. Caspian love, it's time to get up dear. Come on sweet, wake up. It's almost Christmas Eve and we still haven't gotten anything for Peter. Or the Professor. Or Lucy."

Susan sighed and shook her husband gently. Only the very top of his dark head peeked out from the covers. Poor Susan had had to get up and find more covers in the middle of the night he had hogged all the blankets so. He batted at her hand groggily and pulled the covers over his head. "Five more minutes…"

She sighed. His favorite excuse. The Gentle Queen ruffled his hair and threw back the covers and put on her warmest robe. "Come on darling, get up. We have to get presents today."

At the word 'presents' two big dark eyes peeked out over the edge of the covers. "Well in that case…"

He very reluctantly pulled back the covers and then yelped, curling up into an even tighter ball under the covers when the cold hit. He seemed rather determined not to leave his warm little nest. His wife laughed and tossed his warmest things on top of him. "Now come on love, you know we have to. I'll let you lick the spoon when Lu and I make Christmas cookies…" she coaxed and he shot out of the bed.

"Promise?"

She laughed.

"Cross my heart."

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><p>The city was beautiful this time of year. Everything covered in light layers of snow. Children running down the streets playing, older couples shopping for their grandchildren, toddlers enjoying their first snowball fights, the scent of Christmas goodies wafting through every door. Caspian grinned massively as a little Telmarine boy and a tiny faun girl came ran right passed him and Susan, laughing and squealing. He couldn't wait to have kids of his own someday.<p>

He lifted his foot to take another step and Susan put a hand on his chest. "Wait! Don't move," she said and bent down and pulled something wet and soft from under his boot. She smiled and wiped the snow off of the curious object. It was a little rag doll. Memories seemed to flood behind her eyes and she clutched the little doll to her heart, smiling softly as she scanned the crowd in the streets. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed Caspian's hand. "This way love," she breathed and began leading them through the streets, weaving around merry couples and jolly old men playing with their grandchildren.

She glanced back at Caspian with a smile and dropped his hand, gliding over to a little Telmarine girl sitting on the corner crying. The Gentle Queen knelt down the snow and touched the girl's knee lightly.

"Excuse me love. Is this yours?" she said in a very maternal way and Caspian couldn't help but think how lovely she looked around children. What a perfect mother she would make…

The little girl looked up shyly and then her sad face lit up. "Patty!" she squealed, snatching the doll from Susan's hand and hugging it tightly to her chest. The lovely twinkling sound that was his wife's laugh reached the air and Caspian's heart threatened to melt.

"I thought she might be yours. She is very pretty. Did your mommy make it for you?" she asked and the little girl nodded enthusiastically as she rocked her doll in her arms. Susan jumped slightly when the little girl launched herself into Susan' arms, squeezing the air out of the Queen's lungs. "Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" the little girl said in her adorable toddler talk. Susan laughed and hugged the little girl back. Finally the little girl let go and Susan rose to her feet.

"My mommy made me a doll just like Patty once. What is your name sweetie?"

"Freya."

Susan smiled with genuine interest. The little girl looked down at her shoes and shuffled back and forth.

"You're pretty." She said sweetly and Susan laughed again and touched the little girl's nose.

"Not half as pretty as you." Freya's eyes absolutely lit up and her pink little creeks spread into a smile, showing off her adorable dimples.  
>"Thank you your Mrs. Majesty Queen," she said shyly with a wobbly curtsy. Susan threw her head back and laughed at her new title. Caspian walked up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her cheek. His wife's smile widened and Freya giggled.<br>"I think I just may have to start calling you that from now on my love," he said as he moved his arms down to wrap around her waist from behind. She blushed prettily and folded her hands over his. Caspian smiled when she sighed happily and leaned against his warm chest. She turned to Freya with a smile on her face.

"I am afraid we have to go now Freya. We have our own Christmas shopping to do," she said with a glance over her shoulder at her husband. The toddler's eyes clouded slightly and she frowned and tugged at Susan's skirt.

''Please don't go. You have to stay and play with us!'' the little girl said, pulling the classic puppy dog face. Susan looked down at her little face and couldn't say no.

"Well….I suppose we could stay for a little while..." she said softly and Freya clapped her hands and hugged Susan's legs over her soft skirts. Caspian rested his chin on her shoulder.

"Actually my love I have a few presents of my own I need to get. Why don't I come and find you in a few minutes, yeah?"

She kissed his throat. "Alright love. Have fun." Caspian knelt down and kissed the little girls hand. "It is very nice to meet you Freya. I hope I will be seeing you again soon," he said warmly and Freya blushed prettily and bobbed a clumsy courtesy. And Susan stared after Caspian perhaps a moment too long. He was so good with children and he would make a wonderful daddy someday…

"Come on Mrs. Majesty, come on and play," Freya said sweetly, grabbing Susan's hand and leading her over to a large cluster of perhaps fifteen little boys and girls playing in the snow. The little girls as well as the little boys were instantly drawn to the beautiful tall lady in the pretty clothes with the rosy cheeks and dark hair. Within moments several little faun and Telmarine girls were grabbing onto Susan and leading her over to a fountain in the middle of the square, all babbling and laughing and squealing excitedly about the queen. In a matter of second Susan was perched on the edge of the fountain with over a dozen little ones clustering at her feet, all talking and laughing.

"Tell us a story!" a little faun boy called out and was immediately answered by squeals and nods and fervent pleading. She smiled a bit nervously.

''Alright then. What would you like to hear about?"

"King Peter!"

"Defeating the White Witch!"

"Aslan!"

"Your world!"

"Your first visit to Narnia!"

And then once voice sounded above all the others and Susan's heart gave a little flutter.

"Tell us about how you fell in love with King Caspian!"

"YEAH! Tell us about how you fell in love with Mr. King Caspian Sir!"

Susan giggled at the little boys name for her husband and began her story.

"Well… where do I begin?"

"When did you first realize you were in love with King Caspian?" a very shy Telmarine girl in the very back of the little cluster squeaked nervously. This little girl reminded Susan so much of her herself that she smiled and beckoned the little girl closer. Her eyes widened and she stutter stepped forward, looking down at her shoes. Susan leaned forward and grabbed both of the shy little Telmarine's hands in hers.

"That is a very good question sweetheart. You are so pretty honey, what is your name?"

"A-Aradnia, your majesty," she mumbled, blushing horribly.

Susan slipped her finger over the Aradnia's chin and tilted it up to look at her. "Aradnia. What a pretty name for such a pretty little girl," she said maternally and Aradnia smiled. Susan brought the little girl a bit closer to her and pulled the toddler on her lap. Aradnia, she could tell, was extraordinarily shy and so Susan settled the little one on her lap and thought hard for a moment.

"I really don't think there was a moment where I fell in love with him. And as hard as I try I can't pinpoint the exact moment I knew. I really can't explain it. One day I looked at him and I just…knew.'' She said, feeling like one of the romance novels she used to read back in England (don't ask her why).

All of the little girls sighed and the little boys all scrunched up their noses.

"But it was almost too late. The day I looked at him and I just knew was the day we left. Before some of you were even born I am sure. We almost never even got the chance…" she whispered painfully. She swallowed hard and laughed strangely.

"And then…and then we did get the chance. And now everything is…wonderful. Being in love…there really are not any words that can even come close. I can't think of one off the top of my head it's just, amazing,'' she said, twirling the ring on her finger.

Nearly an hour later and Susan's heart was so full of love for her husband she felt she just might explode. Re telling all those memories to those kids just sent so much love crashing over her she almost couldn't speak for a few moments. Caspian was just so perfect for her. She really couldn't even fathom the amount of love she felt every time she looked at him. He was so amazing. There was nothing she loved more than her husband. Nothing. Every day spent with him was the best day of her life.

"Amazing huh? You wouldn't be talking about me now would you love?" Caspian said walking up to the massive crowd of kids ambushing his wife. He really did love children. There were no secrets with them. And he loved that.

Susan shook her head. "You forgot 'modest' dear." She giggled and Caspian took the seat next to her on the bench, putting down all of his shopping bags and putting an arm around his wife's shoulders. Aradnia smiled shyly at the handsome king and he returned the smile.

"It looks like you have made some friends my queen." He leaned in closer and whispered in her ear: "You look lovely around so many children my lady. Perhaps we could make your loveliness more permanent yes?" he whispered cheekily in her ear. She rolled her eyes at him.

"We'll talk later," she whispered through a smile and he grinned like a fool.

"Mr. King Caspian Sir, when did you fig'r out you loved Mrs. Queen Susan?" a little faun girl piped up, catching Caspian off guard. He blinked in surprise and then grinned. He looked at her thoughtfully.

"From the moment I saw her. That second I set eyes on her I knew. Maybe I didn't know it then but the second she disappeared into that portal; it was like my heart was being thrown out of me. I would not wish that kind of pain on my worst enemy," he said with a faraway look in his eye.

He focused back on the kids. "Boys, when you find love, don't you ever let her go, don't you _ever _let her go. And if you love someone; you should tell her. Just do it, just tell her. Even if you are afraid she does not love you back, just tell her. Because no one should ever have to live with knowing you didn't tell her when you should have." He said, ending in almost a whisper. The little children stared at him with wide eyes, their mouths hanging open. He narrowed his eyes when he spotted a particularly ancy little boy. The little curly haired boy jumped up out of the blue.

"I love you Mrs. Queen Susan Your Majesty M'am!" he shouted and Susan was completely taken aback but laughed anyway.

"Why thank you Griffith! Aren't you just a little sweetheart," she said kindly, stretching over Aradnia and kissing the little boy on the cheek. He blushed and giggled bashfully and Caspian couldn't help but laugh.

Griffith smiled and sat back down, still smiling. Susan hugged Aradnia close to her and then pulled back to set the adorable little girl on her feet. She stood up and pulled her husband up.

"Well I think that is enough storytelling for today. You will all have to come visit me at Cair Paravel someday. It would be quite the treat for Queen Lucy and I to spend the afternoon with all of you. My husband and I have some Christmas shopping for my family, if you will excuse us. I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and I am sure Father Christmas will be visiting you all very soon," she said kindly, taking hold of Caspian's hand and leading him down the street, wiggling her fingers at their adoring fans.

Caspian couldn't help but smile like an idiot as he looked down at his wife, snowflakes tangling in her hair and her cheeks rosy from the cold, her breath billowing around her in an icy cloud. Caspian loved this. He loved just walking down the street with his wife; no council meetings, no laws, no audiences, just him and his love. They were just two newlyweds walking Christmas shopping for their family. Occasionally someone would bow or kiss and shake their hands or call out wishes for a merry Christmas but otherwise they were just two normal people enjoying the magic that is Christmas. Susan twined her free hand through Caspian's and moved a bit closer so she was brushing up against him. Warmth flooded through his whole body when she reached up and kissed the side of his neck. And as he sat there, all he could think was that he didn't ever want this to end. He wanted her, all of her, everyday for the rest of her life. He wanted her to love him so much that she couldn't even fathom leaving his side for even one moment. Because every dream, every happy thought, every smile, every good feeling was her. Before her, he had nothing. And she gave him everything. She gave him love. She gave him a family she gave him a life. And he would give her everything he had and more until his last breath.

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><p>Lucy loved decorating the tree.<p>

She loved the way the pine needles filled the common room with their fresh smell and the crackling of the fire before it. She loved the way the ornaments shone and sparkled between the green boughs and how lovely the carefully wrapped packages looked beneath the green bristles. But most of all, she loved what it symbolized. She loved what the little ornaments and shiny balls and baubles symbolized. The two things she loved more than anything; her family and her country.

It had truly been one of the happiest moments of her life when the Professor had come forth with a large, dusty box on the day of Susan and Caspian's wedding. Her sister had been married on November the seventh so Christmas had been very far away but the Professor told the happy couple he simply could not wait. The professor loved Caspian like a son but had given the gift mostly to 'welcome Susan to the family' as Peter put it.

Lucy still felt a wonderful bubble of excitement in the pit of her stomach thinking about when Susan had lifted the lid of the strange little box and had nearly smudged Lucy's beautiful cosmetic masterpiece with her tears. Inside the box was nearly all of the family's Christmas decorations from the Golden Age. The Pevensie's couldn't believe it. It was truly a miracle they had survived thirteen hundred years. And now Lucy squealed and laughed and bounced as she carefully lifted every memory out of their careful wrappings.

Tears ran unchecked down her face as delicately pulled out a small faun flute ornament from the careful wrapping. She still misses Mr. Tumnus every day; he was her very best friend in the entire worlds. Susan smiled and patted her sister on the back as Lucy hung the little figurine proudly in the very center of the tree. Every little ornament and glass ball brought so many memories back that Susan thought she just might explode. Edmund himself was having trouble seeing straight after all of the flashbacks that danced before his eyes.

But nevertheless, as painful as some of those memories were, decorating the tree was almost Lucy's favorite part of Christmas and this one was Particularly special as it was Caspian's very first Christmas ever.

And he loved every second of it. From the snowball fights to the cookie baking to the tree decorating to the mistletoe, everything was amazing. He **loved** every second of this. His love for his family shattered every perception of love he ever thought possible.

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><p>"ITS CHRISTMAS! Su, Peter, Caspian, Ed wake up!WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP WAKE UP! Its Christmas its Christmas its Christmas, time to get up! Eddie wake up!Wake up wake up wake up wake up!" Lucy shouted merrily, barely able to contain her excitement. She squealed and giggled and laughed as she ran up and down the hallway, banging on doors and yelling at her lazy brothers.<p>

Innocent little Lucy burst into her sister and husband's bedroom without even thinking to knock and barreled onto their bed, succeeding in nearly giving Caspian a cardiac attack.

"Merry Christmas! Wake up my little lovebirds wake up!Come on Caspian get up, Susan made cookies and-and the tree is all sparkling and there is a huge fire in the common room waiting for you!'' she coaxed, impatiently shaking the motionless lump she assumed was her oldest brother. Only several tufts of unruly dark hair peeked out of the covers. Lucy went back and forth between shaking her sister and the still motionless lump that was King Caspian. Susan sighed in mock irritation.

"Alright alright I'm up, I'm up. Caspian love, wake up now. Come on dear, it's Christmas morning!" she added but was only answered with a low grumble.

Lucy stood up on the middle of the bed and sighed dramatically. "Okay Caspian, you asked for it," she said solemnly as she began jumping mercilessly on her brother-in-law. Susan laughed as she got out of the warm bed and pulled on her warmest shirt and robe. The entire room seemed to be rocking with the force of Lucy's jumping on the bed. It was only until Peter and Edmund came in to investigate the holdup and started joining Lucy in jumping on the bed that Caspian finally poked his head out of the covers, throwing his hands up in surrender.

"Olright olright you win!I'm up I'm up just knock it off with all the bloody bouncing! You bloody monkeys, I'm coming!" he snapped sarcastically.

Finally, the four Pevensies managed to drag a groggily excited Caspian into the family room where he immediately flopped onto the couch. Susan took her spot next to him, snuggling against his chest. Edmund made a beeline for the carpet in front of the fire and Peter sank into his favorite armchair gratefully. "Would you like to pass out presents Lu?" Peter asked the bouncing ball of energy with a smile. She nodded fervently.

"Yay! It's my turn this year! Hmmm lets see, which one first. Ummmm oh this one! It's so pretty! Here we go….to Peter from Edmund…aww how sweet!" Lucy gushed when she looked up from reading the tag. Edmund snickered at the uneasy look on Peter's face and, making Peter stick his tongue out and Susan grin.

"Wow its heavy, thanks Ed," he said as he began tearing at the wrapping paper. He opened the lid and smiled when he pulled out a small leather bound book about Telmarine war strategy and battle moves and ancient sword maneuvers. Peter's eyes lit up.

"Wow, that's really cool! Thanks Ed; I can't wait to read it. After what a terror Su was I'm glad mum decided to have another," he joked and the family laughed when Susan winged a pillow at her brother.

Lucy clapped her hands once, "Alrighty, next is to Caspian from..oh yay me!" she squealed, still bouncing up and down as she placed the package on Caspian's lap and perched herself next to him, jiggling the whole couch.

'Why thank you Lu!"

He smiled and laughed as he pulled out a warm long sleeved shirt Lucy knitted all by herself in a dark grey with a wonderful embroidery of a scarlet lion on the chest, almost identical to the one on Peter's shield. Caspian was utterly touched by this and hugged Lucy until her ribs threatened to give out.

"Oh thank you little sister I love it! Thank you so much. Merry Christmas little Lu!" he gushed, pulling the warm shirt over his head. I t fit just right.

"Your most certainly welcome brother o'mine." She giggled as she grabbed a second box from under the tree, showing glitter dust through he hair.

"Okay from Caspian to…Edmund!'

"Oh FINALLY!" Edmund growled greedily outstretching his hand in a melodramatic gesture of greed.

He tore at the paper and the smile dropped off of his face and was replaced with utter shock as he pulled out a shiny sword that he recognized immediately. He was utterly speechless as he ran his hand across the smooth flat side of the blade.

"Oh man…how-how- did you find it? I can't believe it; I never thought I'd find this thing again! Thank you Caspian, thank you so much!" he said happily and then did something Caspian never expected.

Edmund got up and hugged him.

Caspian blinked but hugged him back enthusiastically. 'I actually tripped over the hilt believe it or not. The blade was sticking in the ground about four feet in but just the very tip was sticking out; knocked me flat on my back. Before the Dawn Treader I was um, fixing it up, you know, for when you came back.'' He said quietly and Edmund was touched.

"Aww that was so sweet of you Caspian! This one is from Susan to ..me! Oh thank you su!"

Lucy squealed an d laughed when she opened the two brand new dresses that were waiting for her. She ran over to the couch and kissed her sister on the cheek. "Thanks so much Su, I love you!"

"I love you too Lu. I thought you might like some dresses that were not too long for you" she said impishly.

They royal family spent the entire morning opening presents and laughing and teasing and eating cookies. There were so many presents Caspian couldn't even begin to keep track and his head was spinning form all the wonderful things he received on his very first presents. There were presents to everyone from everyone and each one was so unique and so special that by mid morning Caspian's heart was a big puddle of molten wax. But by far the most special present was the very last one laying under the tree.

Lucy handed it to Susan exuberantly, still bouncing like a kangaroo.

Susan smiled and turned over the tag. "To Su from Edmund' she read and flashed a smile at her brother.

"Thank you Edmund!"

Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and blatant shock shone on her face as she gingerly picked up a small sky blue leather book with a carving of Susan's bow and horn on the cover. Caspian peered over her shoulder curiously. She gasped and tears were running slowly down her face. Edmund was smiling like he had just won the lottery.

"Oh Edmund…..oh thank you. Oh Aslan I lost this day before we left the first time….oh thank you Ed. How on earth did you find it…thank you, thank you so very much…" she whispered, opening the little book with trembling fingers, revealing faded looping words in a familiar hand. Lucy gasped and even Peter could not hide his surprise. She looked at her brother will tear filled eyes and rushed over to him, squeezing the life out of him in a bone cracking hug. He stiffened for just a moment and then relaxed against her, rocking her back and forth. "Merry Christmas Su," he whispered into her hair.

Caspian was very confused and could not hide his curiosity any longer.

"What is it?" he asked sheepishly and Susan laughed and pulled back from Edmund.

"It's my journal. From the Golden Age. I lost it days before we heard about the stag…I don't know how you managed to _find_ it,'' she said to Edmund and he waggled his eyebrows.

"I have my ways," he smirked as he pulled her in for another hug.

"Merry Christmas Family. I love you all!"

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><p><strong>so there you have it! a very Pevensie Christmas. hope you all like it and R&amp;R. i had a heck of a time coming up with gifts so i hope you all like them!<strong>


	8. The Storm

**IMPORTANT! if you do not read this authors note you will be hopelessly confused for a very long time so listen up! As some of you know a posted a new chapter a few days ago, 'Deck the Halls' which apparently must have been quite crappy because it only got one review and much less visitors than average. And I am not sure if people just didn't get a chance to read it or if it was too long and they lost interest or what but it was my least popular chapter in this story yet. so anyways, I am going to replace that chapter with this one so *IF YOU READ 'DECK THE HALLS' PRETEND IT NEVER HAPPENED* as of now that chapter doesn't exist and so just erase it from your mind. i am not sure yet but eventually I will edit it and work it back into the story but just totally erase it from your memory. Sorry for the confusion. I guess I just think the story is moving too slowly and so i replaced that fluffy chapter with this one which does a lot to set the plot in action. And i promise you IT IS NOT WHAT YOU THINK! what you probably think is going to happen is not going to happen. I haven't read any stories with a plot like this so it isn't just another 'war gets started over Susan* story. so don't stop reading if you think it is going to be one of those stories because it is not:) it is more complicated than that. So sorry for any confusion:( and I hope this chapter is better than the one i replaced it with and will get more reviews *hint hint*. **

**Disclaimer:i don't own the chronicles of narnia.**

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><p>"I did not!"<p>

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"DID TOO!"

"Did. Not."

"Would you two just shut up!"

"No, he ate all of the Turkish Delight!"

"No I didn't! I wasn't even _in _the kitchen this morning Ed! Your the only human being alive that'll eat it. Plus I hate the stuff so WHY WOULD I EAT IT!"

"I'm not an expert on the criminal mind Peter!"

"WOULD YOU TWO JUST SHUT UP! _SOME _OF US ARE TRYING TO REST!"

"But Cas, he ATE my Turkish Delight! He ate it! I've been waiting all day for them to finish it and I walk into the kitchen to find the tin EMPTY! TOTALLY empty. Not a single crumb left!"

Peter sprang up from the ground and grabbed Edmund's shirt. "For the last time. I DID NOT EAT YOUR STUPID CANDY YOU BIG BABY!"

Caspian muttered various profanities under his breath and stood up from his comfy spot at the bottom of the hill. "For Aslan's sake would two stop acting like toddlers and start acting like men? How you two managed to rule a country for fifteen years with _your_ cooperating skills is beyond me . There's only one way to settle this: ask the girls. Maybe one of them ate it."

Edmund looked horrified. "They would never do something like that to me! I am hurt you could even think that way. Susan and Lu are going to mad when I tell them."

Caspian rolled his eyes. He opened his mouth to tell his two new brothers how pathetic and stupid they were when he saw something out of the corner of his eye that worried him deeply.

It was Susan, sprinting down the hill like her life depended on it. Her hair was falling out of its tight bun and her dress was tangling around her legs and billowing out behind her. Every nerve in Caspian's body went alert and his muscles tensed automatically.

"He ate my Turkish Delight Cas! He just ate it right up, knowing how important it is to me. Caspian are you listening to me?"

Caspian droned out the whiny voice of his brothers and focused solely on Susan. His heart was beating faster than it should and his brain was slowly starting to come up with horrible scenarios to cause her urgency. She was running down that hill as if the wolves of Jadis were snapping at her heels.

''What the heck is so interesting for you to-oh."

Peter and Edmund stopped as their eyes became fixed on what their new brother was so fascinated with. Their stomach became a little more than uneasy and their confusion was writing plainly on their scrunched faces. "What do you think is wrong-?"

Caspian shook his head dumbly as she got closer down the hill.

Susan glanced behind her and it almost caused her to tumble the rest of the way down the hill. Her eyes were wild and almost...inhuman. Caspian narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He had never seen them look like that and he was starting to get very anxious about what could have caused it.

Finally she reached the bottom of the hill and stopped right in front of Caspian, putting her hands on her knees and panting. He put a hand on her shoulder, his heart beating frantically.

"Love are you alright? What's wrong? What happened?"

"Are you hurt? Is Lu alright?" Peter said quickly with a bewildered expression.

''I'm…fine…don't…worry…Lu...is with...the DLF" she panted. She felt like she was breathing acid. Caspian was not conviced. "Love, did something happen? Dear heart what is so important?" he asked, his hand trembling slightly as he rubbed soft circles on her back.

"Your majesty? Queen Susan? I could have _sworn _I saw her around here? Queen Susan?" a cocky Telmarine accent called from the top of the hill and Susan groaned. Caspian's fists clenched and his eyes went slightly red at the edges.

"Oh God he's coming," she moaned and slowly started to stand up, closing her eyes for a moment and hiding her face in her hands.

Just then the Telmarine Prince's gangly frame became visible on the side of the mountain, strutting around as if he owned the place. If fathers plan went right, he would…

Susan grabbed Edmund's forearm as if he life depended on it and started looking around frantically for a place to hide.

The color drained out of Edmund's face as he took in her disheveled hair and slightly dirty dress. He grabbed her elbow. He was gritting his teeth so hard his jaw hurt. He could feel a bit of fire sizzling in his veins.

"Did he..."

She looked at him with a strange look on her face. 'No...I've...just...escaped...Glenstorm...told me...he was..looking for me.." she gasped, her eyes still scanning the hill behind the Cair for somewhere, anywhere, to hide. She just spotted a wonderful tree to climb up when the voice called her name again.

" Where _is _that girl!" Tristan yelled down the hill, more to himself than anything but still quite loudly. He finally spotted her and started waving frantically and smiling like a fool. (Although to the rest of the world it looked more like a grimace).

"Oh god he's seen me, now what do I do! Aslan please let a huge hole appear in the side of the hill!" She mumbled to herself and Caspian pulled her in for a hug, his eyes almost black as he took in this cocky prince strutting down the hill. He didn't ever want to let go, especially with this slick git around. Susan reluctantly pulled away before he crushed her and looked around desperately for a servant or lord or someone she could make an excuse to go see.

She grimaced when she spotted Lord Adrian, one of her least favorite lords talking to several other lords.

"Coming!" she yelled and started walking rather briskly with her head down towards the cluster of ill tempered men much to her brothers amusement.

Unfortunately Tristan cut across and grabbed her wrist. Caspian and Peter both took an aggressive step towards him but Edmund growled and grabbed their belt loops and pulled them back. Susan closed her eyes and momentarily wondered if she just stood there without saying anything long enough if he would go away. No such luck. He spun her around to face him and she discreetly took a step back.

"I have been looking for you all morning! But according to every servant in this...charming place, I have been missing you by five minutes all day," he said in much heavier accent.

"Isn't that just...a weird coincidence. Well, lovely talking to you. Bye!" she said quickly and turned on her heel and prayed to Aslan he would just drop it.

He laughed and side stepped in front of her. "Not so fast my queen. I was wondering if you would give me the honor of accompanying me into the city on this fine autumn day. I have yet to explore this city and it would be wonderful to be given a tour by such a beautiful queen who knows the land so well," he said flashing her a 'charming' smile. She wanted to vomit.

''I can't . I um, am not properly dressed." she said lamely and he chuckled

"Perhaps I could escort you to your chambers and you can find something more appropriate for riding," he said in an oily voice. She wrinkled her nose involuntarily.

"My apologies my prince but I think it would do you well to remember that-"

"Prince Tristan. How unexpected to see you here." Caspian said in a tight voice, putting his arm around Susan's shoulders. She relaxed noticeably and Tristan eyed his arm enviously. Soon that traitor would be in no place to be speaking to him unless he was begging for mercy...

"Well yes, I have been hoping to find her Majesty all day. If I didn't know better I would say she was hiding from me," he said jovially but Caspian could see the slight anger in his eyes. Edmund let out an off tune laugh.

"The Gentle Queen? No, why would she be hiding from you?"

Tristan's face automatically changed at the appearance of the other kings. "Indeed." he said coldly and Susan descreetly rolled her eyes. He reminded her so much of all of the boys that had asked her out in England it wasn't even funny.

"I was just telling Her Majesty how anxious I am to see your beautiful city my kings. I was hoping she would give me a tour?" he said hopefully.

"Prince Tristan I-"

"She can't." three male voices said at the same time. Tristan's face turned slightly red.

"Oh really. I must be mistaken but I was told that here ladies are given the right to speak for themselves,'' he snapped a little sharper than necessary.

"I simply am not able to accomodate you to the city today my prince. I believe I am to attend audiences with the people with King Edmund today and I simply do not have time to accompany you. Perhaps another time we would all be delighted to give you a tour. But not today...or tomarrow. My _husband _and I have plans for this evening. Ever since our _wedding _we have not been able to spend as much time _together_ as we would like. Quite sad really. But I am sure one of the Telmarine Lords or my dear little friend Trumpkin would be more than happy to accomodate your request." she said in a very queenly voice. Tristan took a second as if trying to control his anger.

"With all do respect my dear lady, I am sure Queen Lucy would be more than happy to attend audiences this afternoon and-'

"No, she cannot. I believe she and my husband attended last week and therefore would be unjust to ask her otherwise. Plus, it is my duty to my people and they are expecting to speak to me and my brother about their problems and I intend to listen. I do not mean to offend you Your Highness but I simply cannot cast off my duties as queen to accompany you to the city. Now if you will excuse me I must go speak to Sir Trumpkin about some very important matters. Goodbye." she said sharply and barely dipped her head to the arrogant prince and continued briskly across the hill. The three kings both had to try very hard not to laugh at the marvellous expression on the younger man's face.

"Well then, we are supposed to be meeting with Queen Lucy shortly so I will be seeing both of you later. Good day gentlemen," Peter said, a smile twitching at the corner of his lips. And with that Edmund and Peter stalked off back the hill, leaving Caspian and Tristan alone for the first time.

Tristan considered the king nervously for a moment and shuffed his weight from foot to foot like a squirely schoolboy before his teacher. He nodded his head awkwardly to Caspian and then turned to go after Queen Susan to see if she needed an escort. Caspian grabbed his shoulder firmly and turned the young boy around to face him.

"You have no right to be pursueing her so. You are making her uncomfortable, I can see that and I am asking you as her husband to stop. True she is very beautiful and as much as I want to I cannot blame you for having feelings for her but she is married and you would do well to remember it. I am asking you to leave her be, as both a king and a husband. Heed my warning young Prince for I will not be giving it again." he said in a much heavier accent than usual, staring Tristan straight in the eye. His deep voice was very menacing to the teenage boy but may his mother roll over in his grave if he showed it.

"Is that a threat?" Tristan answered sharply, sounding almost identical to Miraz. It only made Caspian angrier. He stepped towards the boy quickly until his face was inches from his smug one.

"I am telling you now if you make any more flirtacious advances towards my wife there will be consequences to pay." he said in a low dangerous voice. Tristan struggled to keep his gaze fierce under those intense brown eyes. He cleared his throat. And laughed wickedly.

''I can assure you King Caspian, if it is war you speak of it is a war you will get. We true Telmarines do not fear bloodshed like the Telmarines here do. And do not be so quick to threaten the strength of Telmar. Our numbers crush you ten times over. And you can certainly take up the matter with my father."

"Don't think I won't."

And with that Caspian turned on his heel and began to stalk off up the hill, fuming and sizzling. "HEY!" Tristan yelled and Caspian blinked. He sounded just like Caspian himself when he nearly got in a fight with Peter after the raid.

Tristan grabbed his arm and Caspian reflexively whirled around, his hand aching for his sword. His hand was shaking with rage as he threw the younger man's hand off his shoulder and grabbed him by the collar of the shirt. Tristan held his ground and smiled wickedly.

"I think it is time for you to consider what is best for your wife. I can give her more than you can. I bigger palace, a stronger country, a larger treasury take your pick. I am sure your beautiful wife will. Slippery little minx that one."

That was the straw that broke the camel's then Caspian did something he had wanted to do from the moment he lay eyes on Tristan.

Caspian puched him in the face. Hard.

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><p><strong>Duhn duhn duhn! Yay the plot begins! Quite a bit shorter than all of the other chapters so far but i am hoping it will be more popular with my readers than 'deck the hall'. And when i look at my stats i see hundreds of visitors but i only recieve a few reviews (and i am very thankful for those that do review and you rock) but don't be shy! And definetly do not be afraid to review if you do not like my story either. As long as it is constructive criticism that is helpful and will benefit me I am all for it. so please do not be shy and let me know what you really think. ANYTHING you think could make it better, let me know.:)<strong>


	9. What Came of It

**Okay so I am very very nervous about this chapter. I really do not know how you all will react to this chapter but i hope you do not hate me too much. This is where the plot really kicks off so it is an important chapter. But please above everything understand that Caspian is acting this way because he is under the influence of something more powerful than himself. Please please understand that becuase if you don't you will hate this chapter. I think we all know that Caspian would NEVER act this way on his own. i am so nervous and i hope you like this. Please do not be afraid to tell me what you think.**

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><p>"You did <em>WHAT?"<em>

Caspian tore at his hair in frustration, his blood still boiling and adrenaline till flooding through him. That-that _pig!_ Caspian could only remember being this angry a handful of times but this time left those all in the dust. It was like he had to use every ounce of concentration in his body not to swing at the thing closest to him. His very brain was trembling with anger.

"Argh, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I just couldn't HELP it! I do not know what came over me I was just so mad I couldn't even think!" he snarled, sounding almost exactly like Miraz for the first time in his life.

Susan took a step towards him. "Love, what would ever possess you to do that?" she asked, totally bewildered. He growled and his eyes flamed so badly that Lucy for a moment thought her sister was in danger standing so close to him. He pulled at his hair and paced the room like a caged leopard.

"I'm _SORRY _OKAY! You have no idea how _angry _he was making me," he shouted and Susan flinched noticeably. Peter and Edmund instinctively shifted so they were no more than a foot away from either of their sisters. This only made Caspian angrier. Peter had really never seen anyone look so…possessed with rage. He whirled around, his jaw tensed and every muscled in his body aching to feel the crack of bone beneath them. No one noticed the beads of sweet pouring down his face or the paleness that was spreading across his face.

"You did not **hear **what he said to me. The way he spoke of her I just-couldn't let him speak that way,'' he spat through his teeth. Peter and Edmund narrowed their eyes although Susan's expression was unreadable.

"What did the little pig say?" Edmund prompted, his fists clenching. Peter's jaw was tensed so tightly he was sure he would not be able to speak for at least a week. He was bloody glad some one had finally stood up to that creep but he still felt a prickle of irritation at Caspian. It was the first week of January and already the guy was asking for war!

Caspian spun around, sweat still pouring down his face and grabbed the closest thing, a glass flower vase, and threw it against the wall directly behind Susan with as much force as he could muster. She gasped and Edmund pulled her to the ground so fast she scraped her knee against the stone floor. Lucy screamed and Peter's eyes followed the vase all the way to the wall where it shattered with an ear splitting crack. Peter covered Lucy's face when shards of glass came flying through the air. The four Pevensies whipped their heads around to look at the shattered vase, all of them wide eyed. Susan heart was beating twice as fast as it should ever have to. Caspian was starting to scare her. And that was saying something.

She experienced a brief moment of panic. She had only known Caspian for a year if you stretched it. How well did she really know him? How well can you really know another human being. Did she marry a monster? Was this really her husband?

Edmund stood up slowly, crouching protectively over Susan who was utterly shocked. He grabbed her arm and very slowly pulled Susan up behind him. Caspian was looming over all of them, his legs shoulder width apart and his fists clenched at his side. He was breathing heavily and Lucy could see his toned muscles trembling and quivering beneath his shirt. She shifted closer to Peter who put an arm around her shoulder slowly. He was afraid any sudden movement might set off Caspian again.

"He tried to suggest he was better for her than I am. That he could give her _more" _he growled loudly, his eyes travelling over Susan who shuddered slightly under his lustful stare. If this was a normal thing for him, he was not the man she thought he was. And that scared her.

"So you hit him?" Lucy asked, just like she had that last day at the train station. Only then she hadn't been afraid of the murder in her brother's eyes.

He closed his eyes for a fraction of a second as if to make an attempt to control himself. The sweat was absolutely pouring down his face and his tan skin was growing pale and clammy. His voice was sharp and hard. The tendons in his neck bulged from the effort of tensing his muscles so hard. He was starting to scare even Edmund, who knew him, better than anyone, except for maybe Susan.

"No. He called her a slippery little minx. That's when I hit him." he growled low in his throat.

He could scarcely make the ill words of his wife leave his throat, they sent such anger through him. He had never felt this way before. He felt invincible. He felt strong and powerful, like he could kill any oppent, beat anything. He thirsted for blood. He wanted to kill. He wanted to feel the sticky red fluid on his hands. He wanted to torture and torment. He thirsted for pain. His hand ached for the feeling of a sword in his hand.

The way his family was looking at him did not faze him in the least. Nor did the burning feeling in his chest. Or the wobbling in his knees.

Susan took a careful step towards her husband and put her hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling alright..?" she asked cautiously. Caspian snarled and slapped her hands away, shoving her back a few steps. "Get away from me!'' he screamed at her. He felt like he was on fire. Every little thing was making him angier.

''Hey!" Edmund yelled at his brother in law. He could not believe what he was seeing. "You do not shove my sister. Ever!"

The Caspian he knew would **_never _**treat Susan like that. He had never raised a hand against a woman a day in his life and if he did now, Edmund definetly didn't like the idea of him being around his sister, let alone sleeping with her or kissing her...not that he particularly liked that idea anyway.

Peter grabbed Susan's arm and pulled her behind him so fast she nearly got whiplash. Peter's eyes were flaming. "If I ever see you treating my sister like that again I swear Caspian I will make you wish you had never met her,'' Peter snapped dangerously. No one hurt his family. Especially his sisters. And after everything Rabadash put her through, especiallly Susan.

And then, Caspian lost it.

He lunged at Peter with a furious panther like yowl of absolute furry. Susan screamed and Edmund yanked her out of the way while grabbing Lucy's arm with the other hand. He drew both of them behind him and watched, horrified at the scene that unfolded before him. Peter didn't even have time to react as Caspian lunged at his throat, knocking him flat on his back. Peter barely managed to fight off the first punch aimed at his nose and tried to grab Caspian's fist as it came crashing against his face. Peter had been in a few more fights than he would like to admit in England but none of those schoolboys had been as...bloodthirsty as Caspian. It was like he was completely blinded by his anger at Tristan but Caspian was not an impulsive man. Peter and Caspian certaintly had their problems and differences but Caspian wouldn't have ever dared to punch his wife's brother.

There was something seriously, seriously wrong here. This couldn't be Caspian. He swung and punched and yelled like a madman, thrashing and squirming and swinging at Peter's face. Blood was dribbling from Peter's nose and he was sure to have a black eye in the morning. Peter took advantage of Caspian's position when he brought his hand back to slam it into Peter's face and darted under his raised shoulder and managed to twist around so that he was on top. Caspian squirmed and yelled the foulest profanities he could think of at Peter. Susan's eyes widened at the foul language she didn't even know her husband was capable of and clapped both hands over Lucy's innocent ears.

"Caspian!Caspian stop! Stop hitting him what's wrong with you! Caspian calm down! Please, stop it. Stop...please!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, on the verge of hysterics. Ever since the Telmarines had stormed out of the castle, Tristan holding his bloody nose and Kasim shouting about promises for consequences, it was like Susan's roller coaster was going down hill. Tears were blurring her vision as Peter managed to get a few hits in before Edmund shoved her and a crying Lucy into the corner and then stood above Peter, grabbing his arm and side and shoulder and trying to pull him off of Caspian who was still shouting curse words that made even Ed's blood run cold.

"Peter! Pete get off of him! There's something _wrong_ with him, he doesn't know what he is doing. Just stop it! Pete you're better than this just STOP!" he yowled, finally pulling his older brother off of his brother in law and Peter stumbled back several steps, blood still dripping from his broken nose.

Caspian sprang up for the ground and launched himself at Edmund,yowling furiously. Lucy screamed and started yo cry hysterically. Susan deftly turned Lucy around. ''Get the professor." she choked out lamely. Lucy just looked at her through her tears.

"Lu did you hear me, go! Get Trufflehunter and the Professor. Go, right now!" she said frustratedly. Lucy stumbled her way to the doorway and turned and ran like the wolves of Jadis were behind her.

Susan's head felt like it was going to explode and tears were flowing down her face. What was happening to the man she loved? "Caspian stop! Please, please!" she yelped. salty tears were burning her throa. Edmund grabbed both of Caspian's arms from behind him, straining every muscle in his body to restrain this thrashing, cursing, sweating ball of pure rage struggling to beat the daylights out of him. "Caspian something is wrong with you...we need...to find...the Professor...and...Trufflehunter...we have to figure out what is the...matter...you're not...yourself...something...is...wrong with you!" Edmund choked out between his gasps for air. It was only now that he realized that the dark Telmarine was almost as pale as he was. His hands were becoming almost transparent.

With one more scream of rage, Caspian slammed his broad shoulder into Edmund's chest, knocking the wind out of the younger king and sending him crashing to the floor. Caspian turned on his heel and fixed Susan with his cold gleaming eyes, almost black with anger and lust. Torrents of sweat dripped down his face and soaked the collar of his shirt as he all but lunged at Susan, pressing her roughly against the wall and trapping her beneath his hot heavy body. His usually warm tender face morphed into the hard cruel face of Rabadash before her and her scream was covered by his mouth as he captured her in an almost painful kiss, running his hands all over her body roughly. She was trembling all over and she tried to scream and gasped for air the brief moments his mouth left hers. She was panicing.

How like Rabadash he was acting was terrifying her. What if the Caspian she fell in love with was just an act? What if this was really Caspian? No, something was seriously seriously wrong with her husband. Caspian was not Rabadash. Caspian was not Rabadash. His lips moved against the veins in her neck and she put both of her hands on his chest and tried to push him away from her almost desperately. But he would not be moved. He only pressed himself against her harder, ignoring her tears and could vaguely make out the shouts and anger of her brothers but all she could see was Rabadash in front of her.

Suddenly his massive weight was lifted off her and she saw a flash of golden hair before two strong arms wrapped firmly around her. She curled up against his chest, still shaking and trembling as Peter whispered comfortingly in her ear and Edmund held Caspian up by the collar of his shirt, his dark eyes blazing.

"Listen to me Caspian, listen to me! Something is wrong with you and we are going to get you help but don't you EVER treat my sister like that again do you hear me!I don't care how bloody messe up you are right now, don't you ever do that to my sister in front of me again. And sure as hell not against her will!''

Caspian growled and tried to rip Edmund's hands away from him and Edmund got barely two inches from his face, his own rage at how he just saw his best friend kiss his sister coming. His insides writhed and squirmed and felt like his stomach was going to come out his throat at seeing his sister treated like that again.

"LOOK AT ME! DON'T YOU DARE EVER TREAT HER LIKE THAT AGAIN! DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME! IF I EVER SEE YOU ACT LIKE THAT AROUND HER AGAIN I SWEAR I WILL MAKE YOU WISH YOU HAD NEVER BEEN BORN !" Edmund screamed at his brother. He would stand to see him...mauling her face like that ever again.

Susan's sobs got louder and louder as Peter held onto her as if holding her would keep her from falling apart into a million pieces on the floor. And that's when the Professor and Trufflehunter stormed in through the common room door.

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><p>Caspian was mad. He was more than mad. He was-he was <em>furious! Absolutely seething. <em>He was so angry he couldn't even see straight. He didn't even think such anger was possible until ten guards came at him. His own bloody 'brothers' had ordered them to _remove _him from the queens' presence. And that angered him perhaps more than anything. His head was swelling with frustration. At Tristan, at Edmund, mostly at Peter, and more than anything these damn guards. He wanted to kill them. All of them.

They were taking him away from his queen. He felt stronger and faster than he had ever felt in his entire life. How dare they try and stop him from being with his wife. He wanted her. Right now. He felt almost superhuman. Like he could lift a thousand elephants and kill four hundred men with his left hand tied behind his back. And so when nearly a dozen guards burst into the room under orders to remove him from the presence of Queen Susan and Lucy. And when that first man grabbed hold of his arm, something inside Caspian snapped.

He fouht those guards tooth and nail, swinging punches, kicking faces, twisting arm, flipping over shoulders. He laughed and yelled as something cracked beneath his fist. He was totally blind to the rest of the world. If he had heard how hysterically his wife was sobbing and how frightened she was, perhaps something inside of him would have made him calm down. Because he loved his wife. Because he love her more than he thought was possible to love another being. No matter what monster was taking over him, there was nothing he couldn't overcome for his wife. Perhaps if Caspian had heard her wailing and sobbing and clutching onto Peter like she would die without him, he would have found it inside of himself to overcome the evil that was coursing through his body. And evil it was.

But he didn't and so the monster coursed through his veins and took over him. The strange substance that had sneaked into his body quickly took control of every aspect of him. He had no control over himself whatsoever. Maybe the smallest glimmer of conscious told him something wasn't right with the rest of him and he needed to let them help him. But the vile fluid coursed through his bloodstream, burning every cell in his body. He seriously felt as if his very bones were going to shatter from the pressure and frustration building up inside of him.

At first he felt anger. But now, he felt pain. He screamed the foulest words he would never want his wife to hear at Peter and the Professor and Trumpkin and Edmund as they calmy tried to hold him down. Lucy had become so worried that Caspian would hurt himself in his frenzy of violence that the other two kings had very reluctantly agreed that it was necessary to restrain Caspian by all means possible while they figured out what was causing him to act this way. And so with tears in his eyes, Peter held his sister's husband down on their bed as the very people Caspian trusted more than anything tied with down his soft leather strips.

Peter hated seeing him like this. If this was a normal thing for him, he would never had let Caspian touch his sisters with a ten foot pole; but it was not a normal thing for him. Someone had done something to make him act this way. And Peter would bet his entire kingdom it was poison. And he would bet every penny he had that the Telmarines had everything to do with it. And every time Caspian screamed at him that he was a worthless piece of garbage that didn't deserve the title of High King, a peice of Peter died. Because Caspian was better than this. Because this was not Caspian at all. And he knew just how awful Caspian would feel about himself after this was all over. Poisoned or not, it would not matter to Caspian. He would expect more of himself. He would expect that he should have been able to control himself.

But when Caspian's curses and spitting anger turned into screams and yells of pain, Peter's heart stopped. When his tugging and pulling against the leather turned into writhing and squirming away from pain, Peter shoved Trumpkin out the door and told him to fetch every physician in the palace. Susan heard his screaming and barrelled into the room. Edmund grabbed her around the waist and tried to push her back into the hallway but she would have none of it.

No matter how aggresive and impulsive and evil and cruel and downright...mean he had been to her and her brothers, he was her husband and she loved him. No matter how aggressive and wild he had been to her the last hour, she loved him with every fiber of her being.

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><p>"It's called aphatike." the professor said with a sigh, rubbing his hand over his face. The worry for the young man who he had all but raised showed plainly on the old man's face.<p>

"It is a...magical type of poison, if you will. I am not familiar with its origin but it does not come from anywhere around here. It is a man made poison and is quite difficult to compose."

"What do you mean by 'magical' Professor?" Lucy asked in a clipped tone, extremely worried and ringing her hands.

"Well, it brings out the very worst in a person. The very deepest most vile slice of a person's soul is brought out. But it makes the victim feel so strong and powerful they do not realize anything is off until it is too late. He feels fast and strong right now and that is why he cannot see past his anger. In my opinion, it is more of a fatal potion than anything. Not meant to kill, only to destroy everything that person has. It's meant to bring out a side of the victim even they themselves did not know could even exist. To summarize, it is meant to make the victim appear to be something they are not."

Tears rose to Susan's eyes but she hid it well. Edmund shook his head.

''Professor, this is not a common type of poison, is it?" Edmund asked bleakly. The Professor looked at Edmund over the top of his spectacles.

"No you majesty. There was a lot of planning and careful preparation put into this. Years perhaps. But the making of this poison are only found in one country as far as I am aware.

"Oh? And what country is that Professor?" Peter asked although he already knew the answer.

"Telmar."


	10. The Wrath and Reasoning of the King

**Whew three updates in a week! I am on a roll! My fingers are soooo sore. This chapter is not what i thought it would be but I hope you all like it. And thank you so so much for all of the wonderful reviews! Every single one makes me smile. I love you all and thank you so much!**

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><p>Susan gritted her teeth and closed her eyes. She knew it. That evil twisted sexist little coachroach! He better hope he did not meet Susan on the battlefield or she would not be so gentle. See him try and hit on her with an arrow through his heart! Her brain was trembling with anger. She was going to kill him. She was going to <em>kill <em>him. Lucy gasped.

"_Why _would someone do something like that!"

The four siblings were in the common room, in shock, waiting in agony while the Professor and physician's tried to work on Capian. Tried everything they could to get the poison out of his system. They had tried everything, and the Professor was at the end of his rope. When the charcoal didn't work, for a moment the Professor feared that nothing would. Apparently, the king had been recieving amphatike in several smaller doses and then a particularly large one. If only they had Lucy's cordial...

Edmund snorted and shook his head in disgust. "How thick can we get?" he said. Peter raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to ask him to elaborate and was cut off.

"Of course. Don't you get it? Tristan and Kasim got someone to slip it in his soup or something. Don't you see!" he said, standing up from his chair. Silence. He grunted and grabbed Susan's shoulders and gave her a shake.

"Tristan gave Caspian the amphatike to make him someone he is not, right?" Susan nodded. "To bring out the very worst Caspian could possibly be?" She nodded. "Yeah...'

"And he's been hitting on you non stop since the wedding, right?" She nodded. "Right..."

"Don't you see? Tristan wanted you to think Caspian's something he's not and get scared. The little git wanted to trick you into thinking Cas was a dirty hot tempered explosive pig who was only after one thing from the beggining so that you would get scared and leave him. And then Tristan would sweep in and make his move and get you to run off to Telmar with him!" Edmund all but screamed.

Susan didn't say anything. She could see Edmund's mouth moving but the words were just empty jibberish. Susan was no fool. Edmund was one thousand percent correct, she knew in her gut that was exactly what had happened. But still, she was numb. She hated that she was the cause of this. She was married for Aslan's sake and angry suitors were still starting wars over her. And she hated it. She absolutely hated it. And she was scared. She was terrified. Her stomach was tying itself in soccer ball sized knots for hours. She was deathly deathly scared for her husband. If something happened to him because of her, she would never forgive herself. If something happened to him, she would lose it. She couldn't live if her husband didn't. The idea of losing Caspian took her breath away. Susan could not even process that, it scared her so badly. Living without him again would be like trying to live without air.

She felt movement next to her and screamed when Peter put his arm around her. He pulled back like he had touched a scalding pan. Susan's heart stopped for a moment and tears clogged her throat and started to suffocate her. Susan pulled away from Peter and put her head in her hands when an image of Caspian writhing and screaming and begging for relief and help penetrated her mind. Her lungs constricted inside of her and when she took a breath, nothing happened. Bile rose in her throat, the acrid taste burning her eyes.

"Hey, hey its just me. Peter, your brother. It's alright." Peter whispered soothingly, rubbing slow circles on her back. Her back trembled with her sobs, Peter could feel her spine tingling."No, no its not! It's not okay Peter! There is nothing about my husband being poisoned because of me that is okay!" she choked out at him in a strangled voice, looking at him with her puffy red face for a moment before turning back to cradling her head. Lucy sniffled and gently took her sister's hand away from her face.

"Susan..." she said softly, "this is not your fault. You-he-Tristan is...rude and obnoxious and kniving and spoiled and he's a terrible person but you, you are not. Susan look at me. You are a beautiful person. And don't you dare even try to even pretend otherwise. Tristan, Tristan sees your hair and your eyes and you curves and your lips and you face but Caspian, Caspian sees the smile and the sweetness and the courage and the strength and the gentleness and...amazing person that you are. People like Caspian are not meant to die by the hand of people like Tristan or Kasim," Lucy whispered. For just a fraction of a second, Susan's sob caught in her throat and her shoulders stopped shaking.

She slowly removed her hands from her face and turned her face to her sister. "Just promise me he is going to be okay."

Peter put his hand on her shoulder and Edmund grabbed her hand. "He is going to be okay."

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><p>Kasim. Was. Mad.<p>

He was more than mad. He was furious. Positively seething. He paced and ranted and raved and screamed and yelled in the carriage. And truthfully, it was begining to scare even Tristan.

Mariella was just numb. She still couldn't wrap her mind around what had happened. She just really could not believe that Caspian had actualy punched her brother. It just...didn't make sense. Caspian had always seemed so nice. And personally, she was glad someone had finally put her jerk brother in his place. And in her opinion, Tristan certainly deserved it. If you are continually making suggestive comments and flirtacious advances and inviting someone's wife to take walks and go riding and explore the town of course her husband is going to get protective and irate and eventually make some kind of agressive move. So really, she was very proud of Caspian. But she was terrified for Narnia. Telmar was huge. There army was enormous. They could crush the Narnian army with one stamp of their foot.

And Mariella loved Narnia. She absolutely loved it. It was perfect. She could actually feel the magic in the air. She loved the ocean and the Trees and the creatures and the talking animals. And then of course there was Peter. His name sent shivers down her spine. Peter was just...wonderful. She had not seen him nearly as much as she had wanted to but she knew that he was the one. His smile, his eyes, his hair, his deep voice, his laugh...it was intoxicating. She loved his laugh. He was a strong king and fierce warrior, diplomat, big brother and friend but most of all he was a person. A reall living breathing mistake making prank pulling person. High King Peter was truthfully the most real person Mariella had ever met. At home, everyone was stiff and cold and hard and fierce and everyone was just at everyone's throat all the time and every word had double meaning. Nothing at home was real. But Peter, Peter was real.

Peter wasn't just a vegetable like Tristan or her father or the general or the lords. She had seen him give speeches and propose toasts and speak to embassadors and dignitaries and discuss politics and argue politely with kings and be the perfect example of a king. But she had also seen him cry when he gave his sister away. She had seen him fall flat on his face out of a tree, though he didn't know she saw. She had seen him playing tag with Lucy or tickling Susan and wrestling with Edmund. She had seen him tossing snowballs at his brother in laws face and being knocked into the snow by his sisters and having the time of his life. She had seen Peter and she had seen King Peter. And she quite liked them both. And she despised that they were leaving because of her stupid brother's inabilitly to just keep his hands to himself and stop hitting on a married woman.

"Father he hit me! He hit me father he hit! I want to declare war right now!" Tristan whined like a toddler, stomping his foot impatiently at every other word. Mariella pressed the cloth to his bleeding nose just a little too hard and he yelped and glared at her. She batted her lashes at her brother. "Oops.""

Kasim paced furiously back and forth, making the whole carriage shake dangerously, lost in thought and remaining in a furious silence.

"Malicia, get the stationary so Fathe can start writing the declaration of war!'' Tristan barked. Malicia rolled her eyes. "Your nose is broken, not your legs. Get it yourself." she said snarkily. Tristan opened his mouth and then closed it. Arianna giggled.

"Father did you hear what she just said to me! Father do something, did you hear how your daughter just spoke to me!" he whined again. Mariella resisted the urge to give him a fat lip to match his broken nose.

"Quiet! Stop your whining I am trying to think!" Kasim barked at his son for the first time in his life. Tristan imitated a fish and closed his mouth and then opened it.

"But father, that bloody traitor hit me Father! Father he hit me! Aren't you going to do something! We could crush their entire country with one blow! And then if we killed Caspian X the barbarian queen would have no choice but to come to Telmar! Her sister could be a slave in our home and take care of our children! She would have no brothers to stop her! They would all be dead! Fathe we have to declare war now father! FATHER are you listening to me!"

"Would you sop your whining for on e moment so I can think! We cannot attack now. They will be expecting us. We have to wait. We will lie low for a while until the Narnians think we have forgotten about the assault on the prince and do not intend to make war over it. And then when they least expect it we attack,'' Kasim said with a twisted smile. Mariella's jaw dropped and she stood up.

"Father how dare you! How can you even think that way! Of course King Caspian hit Tristan he was going after his wife! The kings and queens are perfectly lovely and I will not stand by and let you murder them. Don't you think you are getting to old for these dark twisted games? It is just not right father. I am sure King Caspian will apologize and if you two could just talk instead of fighting. What if Tristan gets killed in a war that you started on purpose for no reason? How would you feel then?" Mariella said in a strong, unwavering voice. But Kasim was not listening. He was pacing, stroking his disgustingly pointed beard and deep in thought.

He grabbed Tristan by the shoulder. "Do you remember what I told you the day before we left? About the amphatike? How much did you get that soldier to put in?" he said to Tristsan in a voice too low for the girls to hear. Tristan considered for a moment.

"One vial father. Just like you instructed. Three drops at breakfast and four at dinner, just like you instructed."

Kasim gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. "And for how long?"

"How long has the man been putting poison in the Kings food? Three weeks after the wedding.''

"Then how did you manage to use only one vial you stupid stupid boy! You were supposed to put in six drops at breakfast and eight at dinner five days after the wedding you stupid stupid stupid boy! You should have used at least three by now you fool! And what, did you put half of the vial in his soup last night!" Kasim said in a low, dangerous voice. The princeses were all talking and fighting quite heatedly right now about which of the Kings was best looking.

Tristan paled slightly. That was exactly what he did. Kasim yelled and began pacing frantically. Now he was really angry. Little did he know how well his plan was still working.

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><p>Caspian was on fire. His throat, his neck, his chest, his legs, his arms, his muscles, everything was on fire. It was like his family had strapped him down and set the bed on fire. His sheets were drenched with his sweat and his long hair was plastered all around his face. His eyes burned and seemed to water acid. And the Professor was starting to panic. Caspian could see that although the old man tried desperately to hide it. No one thought he would make it.<p>

The tremors were perhaps the worst part. They rocked and shook him and rolled through his body so violently that as good a man as he was, Caspian couldn't help but shout at Edmund at least once to just take his sword and put him out of his misery. He thought his heart would burst it beated so fast. The lewd profanities and malicious insults flew out of his mouth left and right, each one hittin their target. The heart. Edmund and Peter tried so hard to block him out and not take anything he called or said to them seriously. He could not be blamed for his horrid comments but the scathing remarks still left the kings questioning whether the poison was bringing out the truth.

Susan had made herself mad with worry. Peter had refused to allow either of his sisters into the sick room as the fifth Pevensie retched and vomited and yelled and writhed and screamed repetitively. Lucy really was afraid her sister would drive herself to lunacy. Lucy had to physically have the guards carry her to her old bedroom. No one thought he would make it through the night. According the the professor, he had been recieving small doses of the vile stuff for months but had had very recently ingested a very large amount of the poison. Amphatike was odorless and colorless and Susan was convinced that Tristan had paniced and poured several doses into the soup the previous night.

No one thought he would make it through the night. But thanks to those that love him, he did.

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><p>In Cair Paravel, there are only two gates of which to escape. That is not a very good idea.<p>

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><p>Caspian lasted the night. Every time he woke, he prayed to Aslan that he hadn't. The pain was slicing, stabbing him like a hundred thousand knives. He truly honest to Aslan thought he was going to die. His heart was going to explode. It had pumped so much acrid poison through his in the last two and a half hours that he could almost feel it turning black in his chest. Shrivelling and curling and wrinkling into nothing. He sucked in a shaky breath and closed his eyes, ready to see his father after all of those then, he thought of Susan.<p>

The softness of her hair, the smoothness of her sking, the ring of her laugh. And he thought of them and all that they had been through together and all that was yet to come for them. He did not deal with intolerable agony and excruciating pain for three years and allow the pain of what could have been to fester and boil inside of him for months and tear him apart piece by piece just to be killed by a spoiled teenage boy who was after his wife. He did not scream out her name and lay awake in bed and stare at the paintings of her and sitting in her thrown and run his hands across the fabric of her dresses for three years to leave her permanently after only two months of marriage. Just lay down and give in to the agony. No, he did not think so. Not when he had so much to live for. A country, a wife, a family. Maybe he grew up without any affection or love but now he was drowning in it. Two brothers, the little sister he had always wanted and most importantly, the wife he never dreamed of having.

He had so much to live for. He would live to see the day Susan held their baby in her arms and passed their little daughter or son over to him with tears pouring down her face. He would live to hear Lucy laughing and squealing as their baby reached up and gave her wavy hair a little tug. He would live to laugh until tears came when their baby would vomit all over him and then start crying for his mommy. He would live to see the day Peter would babysit his son or daughter. He would live to see the day his baby would take his first steps and open his or her eyes for first time. He would live to hear his teenager screaming and yelling and storming about the palace and then coming into their bedrooom late late at night to apologize. He would live to hear the pitter patter of little feet and years of changing diapers and heating up bottles. He would live because he had reason to. He would live for his family and his country and he would live to see the day his baby was born.

And so he kept fighting. He struggled and fought this awful force that was coursing through his veins, singeing his cells and burning his flesh. But deep deep inside, he knew it would not be enough. And so did Edmund.

Amphatike was not the sort of poison that would not just eventually work its way out of your system. It wormed its way into your very core, wedged itself right between the muscles of your heart, tucked away safely forever. But still it grew stronger. It still festered and bubbling inside the very crevice of your heart. It was the sort of poison that no matter how good you are, it becomes a part of you. And it will always stay inside of you even after all the traces are gone and you are good and well and strong again, it is still there. Unless, unless you had some divine sort of magic or power. Unless you had Lucy's cordial.

But they didn't. But that did not worry the Just King. For he would find it. He would find it and he would bring it back. Because his brother needed it. And there was nothing he would not do for his brother. There was nothing he would not do to save his sister's love. And no matter what Lucy or Peter or Susan said, they could not stop him becuase not only did his brother need it, his best friend needed it. Edmund had made up his mind. And once Edmund made up his mind about something, even the wrath of the Gentle Queen could not change it.

To save Caspian, Edmund would return to the place of his greatest mistake. To save his brother, Edmund would return to the sight of every bad memory every sad feeling every twinge of guilt and betrayal. Place of his capture and escape. Place of his sister's attack.

To save his brother he would go to the Witch's castle.

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><p><strong>plz let me know what you think!<strong>


	11. Look Me in the Eye

**Helllooo my beloved readers! I would like to thank you for all the reviews and feedback i have recieved from all of you! Nothing major in this chapter, not totally a filler chapter, just setting the scene and stuff, setting up for the next few chapters. hopw y'all like it.**

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><p>Peter must have stood there with his mouth hanging open for at least five minutes, simply staring at his younger brother. His brain could not even begin to comprehend what he was suggesting. He saw Edmund's mouth moving and the determination of which he was speaking but the words simply did not regester properly. At all, really. Any one could see plainly that the Just King was rather annoyed by now and did not appreciate people gawking at him like he had four noses. It was a rather long while before Peter could actually make the words come out of his mouth. Well, word. Sort of.<p>

"Huh?"

Edmund sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. "I see we are going to have to take this _slowly._ I. Am going. To go. To. The White Witch's castle. To find. Lu's cordial. So we. Can give it. To Caspian." he said rather slowly, trying to use the smallest words possible. He felt as if he was talking to one of the second graders Susan had tutored in England.

Peter focused very hard on Edmund's mouth, concentrating on the words that werer coming out and only that. And still, they made no sense to him. Just strange babble.

"Sorry; didn't catch that." he said and Edmund rolled his eyes and groaned.

"For Aslan's sake Pete! How old are you, four? I am going to the castle to get Lu's cordial so that we can get the amphatike out of Lover Boy's system for good!" he said loudly, clearly frustrated with his big brother.

Peter still couldn't comprehend what his brother was saying. It was like they were standing under water and all of it was trapped inside his head. As soon as he heard the word 'witch's castle' it was like his ears shut off. But his thoughts grew louder. That was where Rabadash had tried to force himself on his sister. That was where all of her scars and tears and bruises and scratchs originated. From him. In that castle. He clenched his jaw almost instinctively and his heart throbbed with that familiar ache as he remembered how he had failed to protect his sister from her past.

"Could you say that one more time?" he asked and then winced after, preparing for a slap in the face or a smack upside the head. Edmund muttered several words he would never want his sisters to hear before throwing up his hands and grabbing his hair in aggravation.

Peter concentrated very hard on his brother's mouth and the words that had come out of them. Peter remembered the scared faced little boy with the cut up lip that had almost died in that castle and the permanetly scarred little sister who had almost been raped in that place and he wanted to cry. He had failed to protect them. Both of them. And now his brother wanted to go back there. The silence was heavy and suffocating.

Edmund looked up at his brother and fixed him with his penetrating Edmund-stare. Aslan Peter hated when he did that!

"He needs it Pete. Even if he gets better and even if he gets back to normal that amphatike is still going to stay in his system. It will never leave him unless we get Lucy's cordial. I know you aren't exactly one hundred percent comfortable with the idea of him being married to our precious sister but we have to get it for him," Edmund said in a more serious tone. Every hint of irratation was gone and his face was determined and serious.

Peter's head snapped up. He was her big brother. Of course he would never be comfortable with the fact that his seventeen year old sister was already married and moved bedrooms but he was bloody glad it had been to Caspian.

''I'm not uncomfortable with Caspian being married to-"

"If it was Lucy or Susan that had been poisoned you would let me go." Edmund interrupted in a quiet whisper. Peter opened his mouth and then closed it. That idea was so horrifying to him he couldn't even process it.

"That-that has nothing to do with it Ed!"

"He's our brother Pete. And he needs it. His life depends on it. I love Caspian as much as I love you and the girls-well, maybe not as much as I love the girls- but if there is something my family needs I am going to get it. He is part of this family now Peter and he needs that cordial to continue being a part of this familiy,'' he said in a voice stronger than he felt. It didn't matter to him what Peter said. He was going to that castle. And he was going to find that cordial.

"Ed you know I love Caspian but I love you more. I'll go. You...stay here and look after the girls and Caspian and the kingdom and-"

Edmund threw his hands up in the air and tore at his hair in frustration but strangely his face remained calm and blank. "Pete I love you but you can be a real prat sometimes. Do you honestly think I am going to stay here and be a bloody nanny? Peter, Susan is _married_ for Aslan's sake and Lucy is almost fourteen! _When _are you going to realize that just because you're the oldest and Dad was never around that you don't have to father us about everything. You're not my father Peter. Your youngest sister will be fourteen in March and you are still treating ME like I am the same pratty rotten little boy that almost got the four of you killed because I was mad at you. I'm not a little kid anymore. I was twenty five when we left! You can't keep telling me what to do Peter you're not the High King of the whole bloody universe!" he ranted.

"But you know what Ed, that is not the point! No matter how old you get I will always be older and no matter how hard I try not to I am always going to want to protect you because I couldn't when you were that little boy! I'm sorry but no, you're not going. And the only way i will let you is if we go together but we can't DO that because someone has to stay here and look after the country!' he retored angrily. "It is too dangerous and you aren't going without me."

Edmund scrunched up his nose, the resemblence to Susan becoming overwhelming. Peter flinched. Just another thing that he and Susan shared that they didn't...

"Yeah Peter, it is dangerous but everything can be. I have to do this Pete. Not you, not Caspian, not Su or Lu, ME. It has to be me."

So many unspoken words in those last five words.

"I am never going to forgive myself for what I did but this is my chance to try. You have no **idea **what it is like to look at your sisters knowing that they could be rotting in the ground because of you. And you have no **idea **what it is like to look at this country and know that it could all be covered in snow and she could be sitting on the thrown. I have never stopped feeling guilty for what I did. It tears me apart Pete. It always has and I can never redeem myself and I'll never forgive myself for what a prat I was back then but this is my chance to try. PLEASE don't take that away from me.** Please **just let me do this. I can do this Peter. I'll take Trumpkin and Glenstorm with me...whoever you want but just let do this. Don't you trust that I can take care of myself?" He asked in a slightly injured tone.

Peter opened his mouth and then closed it again, trying to choose his words very carefully. He sighed.

"It's..not that I don't trust you...I just want you to be safe...and I know that you can do this. But we'll be getting a declaration of war from Telmar any day now and you're the best swordsmen in Narnia. It's really really risky for you to be gone. I dont know if we can risk it this time. I believe in you more than any one else in the entire world but you know...I'd miss you. Um, I uh, I mean the girls. The girls...would...miss you." he mumbled awkwardly. Edmund seemed to not notice and was staring out the open window with a distant look on his face.

"I would miss them too. You know I never really say it enough...ever, really, but I really hate being away from the three of the you. I really really don't say it enough. I love you Peter.' he said sincerely. Peter was suprised but suddenly found himself holding back tearss. Lu was almost fourteen, Susan was married and Edmund wanted to go off to an evil witch's castle to save Susan's husband. Why did they all have to grow up so fast? Wasn't watching his family grow up and not need him at all bad enough the first time?

Before he knew it Edmund was throwing his arms around Peter and squeezing the air out of his lung. Peter patted his back comfortingly, still trying to be the big brother. "I love you too Ed. And I suppose... Trumpkin might be looking for an adventure. But you have to swear to me that you will be careful. And take Susan's horn with you. Please.''

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><p>Caspian flitted his eyes open for the first time in three days. What <em>happened?<em> His tongue was dry, his head hurt like heck, every muscle ached, his side burned, he had the worst taste in his mouth, and he still felt like he was on fire. Except now instense of a boiling inferno it was just a hot glow. Not like the blue part of the flame but the palest yellow part. He tried to sit up and was greeting with a slicing pain so intense he collapsed back on his pillow with a gaspe of pain. He groaned and ruffled his slightly and rubbed his hand rougly down his face.

"Hey, look who just woke up,'' Susan said with a soft smile, quoting Caspian's own words from several months ago. How long ago that all seemed!

Caspian smiled at the sight of his wife and once again tried to sit up. He bit back a rather foul curse (the amphatike tended to linger a bit) when the pain exploded through him. He sank back onto the pillow breathing heavily. The smile fell from Susan's face at her husband's pain and she immediately crawled into the bed next to him and snuggled up to him although she was strangely distant and careful, as if pressing against him too hard would cause her to burst into flames. Caspian smiled weakly and tilted his head to press a kiss to the side of hers. She sighed and brushed a rebelious lock of hair out of his face. He laughed wheezily and tried to shift his weight to be closer to her but finding that it hurt too much gave up.

"Oh Caspian I am so glad you're awake. You've been out of days. I was so worried about you..." she said painfully in a quivering voice. She sounded so small.

Caspian attempted a laugh but it only came out as a gurgle of pain. Susan flinched. She turned her head in an attempt to hide the tears but if Caspian noticed, he didn't show it. Not because he didn't care but because he was afraid the thought of losing her would bring his own tears. He swallowed hard and very slowly and carefully lifted and arm to put around her shoulder. His eyes bugged out and he bit his tongue to keep from yelling out from the pain. It was like his muscles had been through a garbage disposal. Susan's lip quivered slightly and she turned her head gently into his shoulder. Caspian's burning chest seemed to cave in when he heard her soft sobs.

"You almost didn't make it Caspian. Even the Professor said so. Your eyes rolled into the back of your head and- and you stopped breathing and i-it was so scary," she sobbed quietly into his shoulder. Her cold tears sliding down his neck were the only heat relief he had felt for days. He rested his chin on top of head and whispered nonsense into her hair for a few moments.

"Shh Shh its alright love. I'm here now and I always will be. You're my life now Susan and I will always fight for my life," he whispered hoarsely, turning his head to ghost his lips along her temple. She sobbed harder and grabbed a fistfull of his shirt. Caspian was genuinely scared. Even after all of the vile disgusting things Rabadash tried to do to her a few months ago he hadn't ever seen her so scared.

"Please. Please don't cry. I can't stand to see you cry. Love please stop. Don't cry," he breathed as he rested his forehead against the top of her head so he could smell her hair better. How he loved that smell. It was one of the things that he thought of as the foam was gurgling out of his throat and the vile poison was seeping into his heart.

'"I was so scared I was going to lose you" she whispered quietly.

Caspian made a face. "After the way I treated you I should think you would be glad to be rid of me."

Susan gasped and her head snapped up, her eyes huge.

"Caspian X don't you EVER say that again, Don't you _ever_ say that again! How can you even _think_ that way?" her voice was low and dangerous and well...a lot more intimidating than it should have been.

Caspian stared sadly into her eyes. "But it is true. I treated you just like he did. I am so sorry," he ended in a whisper.

"Darling it wasn't you fault-"

Caspian snorted and shook his head. "I am better than that. I was taught better than that I was RAISED better than that. I hit your brother for Aslan's sake!I don't deserve to be part of your family." he said bitterly. Susan shook her head disbelievably.

"Love, who you are is not what you did...that wasn't you Caspian! You were poisoned for goodness sake-you couldnt _help _it."

"But I could have. I am better than that. I actally punched your brothers. Both of them. I actually _punched _them. But that is nothing compared to what I did to you. Putting my hands all over you like that in front of Lucy and your brothers...I was just like _him, _someone I swore to you I would never be like." he said spitefully, his eyes a strange combination of spitefully bitter and sad. He would like to say he had never felt so bad about himself but he would be lying. He felt like this more often than he would like to admit.

It was a horrible feeling. Like feeling the most vile part of yourself dancing and swirling around inside of you. He could feel the blackness inside himself.

Susan was quiet for a few seconds. Not an agreeing quiet but a careful quiet, as if she was rolling her tongue over her words before allowing them to leave her mouth.

"You are just like my brother." she said distantly. Caspian frowned and opened his mouth to protest.

"Perhaps that is why I was so drawn to you in the first place. I could feel that you were like them. Good and brave and strong and kind and funny and sweet and chivalrous. Do you know why I never chose anyone? A suitor, I mean, in the Golden Age?"

He shook his head slowly. Uncertainly.

''In England they always say girls look for a man thats like her father. I love my father but he really wasn't around much, even before the war. So I guess I never really realized it but I always looked for someone like my brothers. Someone...who was strong and smart and had a sense of humor but could be serious. Someone who didn't think of me as a prize to be won or an object to be protected. Someone who would hug me when I was upset and make me laugh when I was not. And you are just like him."

Caspian shifted uneasily in the bed with the most adorable confused face Susan had ever seen.

She sighed. "Edmund. You are just like Edmund."

Caspian snorted again. " Edmund would not have acted that way. He would not have treated the people he loved so."

"I love Edmund to death and there is nothing I wouldn't do for him but what he did on our first visit was much worse. I assume you are familiar with the story?"

He nodded solemnly.

"About what the Turkish Delight she gave him did to him? How she tricked him and bribed him with power over Peter and me and Lu. He was such a different person then,'' she added the last part more to herself than to him.

"Now let me ask you this. Do you..blame him for him for what he did?"

"No. He could not help it. He was under her power." he answered automatically. Susan nodded. "Uh-huh. And-how, exactly, is that any different than what happened to you?"

Caspian did not say anything for a while.

''Edmund will never forgive himself but-its done, it happened."

"But that doesn't make me feel any less of a fool."

"Caspian listen to me very carefully. Who you are is not what you did. I was almost thirty when we left the first time and I'm still growing up. Life is a tough crowd but it is not hard to make them cheer again."

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><p>Edmund sat frozen in his saddle, staring at the sun above the sea. Was he scared? Of course! Was he going to let that keep him from saving his oldest brother? Heck no!<p>

Trumpkin cleared his throat on the pony next to Edmund, Peepicheek standing on his saddle horn. Edmund didn't notice and turned over his shoulder to look one more time at Cair Paravel. He didn't know how long it would take or the next time he saw it would be but he was not coming back until Lu's cordial was tucked in his saddle bag next to Susan's horn. He still felt a bit uneasy about taking it without telling her but he thought it would be better if he didn't say goodbye to the girls. It was going to be hard enough saying goodbye to Peter, he couldn't imagine saying goodbye to the girls.

He really wasn't as affectionate and caring around them as he would like to be but he still loved them more than anything. He didn't hug them enough, didn't tell them he loved them enough but that would change when he got back.

He felt a pat on his leg and he jumped when he saw Peter's sad green eyes staring at him. "Well, I guess you better get going Ed. You wouldn't want to get going at sunset." he said with catch in his voice, trying to manage a week smile.

Edmund reached down and clasped his brothers shoulder firmly with a brave smile. "Tell Caspian I am going to be back as soon as I can. Tell Su I'm sorry I took her horn and tell Lu I'll have her cordial in no time. But most of all, tell them I love them. I know I don't say it enough." he said with a lopsided half smile. Peter looked away for a moment and then nodded.

"Just be careful little brother. I don't think me and Caspian could handle Su and Lu and all their girly problems on our own." he said with a lame attempt at a joke. Edmund chuckled.

"Well, Cas is kinda married to Su so I think those are his problems." he said and then put on a serious face. "I love you Pete."

"I love you too Ed."

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><p>You can only stand by and say nothing as your father and brother plan to stamp out the country of the most amazing man you have ever met. And Mariella did not intend to.<p>

There are only so many fights a young king has inside of him. And Kasim planned to find Caspian's number.

A queen can only take so much treachery before she finally snapped. And Tristan intended to find out just which straw would break the camel's back.

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><p><strong>Review review review=)<strong>


	12. And Then There Were None

**ugh sorry it took a little longer than usual. It took a long time for me to get all this figured out because it was pretty important. Plus I got braces today so my mouth hurts like heck and i look even uglier than usual and i am in a really bad mood but i hope that writing and updating will make me feel better. Enjoy!oh, and I can promise you that Edmund knows what he is doing.**

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><p>"He's <em>WHERE!"<em>

Peter shrank back a before his little sisters slightly. He had dreaded this moment from the second Edmund had suggested going out to find Lu's cordial.

"Um well, he's uh,…out?" Peter tried. Susan's eyes were flaming. Peter couldn't tell if Lucy was angry or just stunned or, well, just not paying attention. But Susan, Susan was furious.

"You let out little brother go wondering off to the Witch's castle _by himself?"_ she screeched.

"Of course not! What kind of brother do you think I am? Honestly Su!I'm hurt that you would think that! He's not by himself…Trumpkin is with him." Peter said in a very matter of fact tone.

Susan's eyes widened. "Yes, because that makes it all better now doesn't it!" she snapped. Peter winced.

"Look Su, I know your mad but just hear me out alright? _He_ asked _me_. I didn't like it at first either but he is going to be fine. He's a big boy Su he can take care of himself." Peter said wearily as if dealing with a difficult toddler. She opened her mouth and then closed it angrily several times. Peter would have laughed endlessly at how fishy she looked if she hadn't been shooting daggers out of her eyes.

"He's fifteen Peter! He's not the twenty five year old we left in the Golden Age Peter Pevensie! I'm really beginning to wonder if there is actually a brain in that big blonde head of yours Peter!" she ranted. Lucy remained silent although her eyes were showing her uneasiness and the fact she was holding back tears. You know its bad when Susan says your name at the end of every sentence;its worse than when Mum used to call him his full name in front of his friends when she was cross.

"But that's the thing Susan; he really is. He is still that same person on the inside. He's trying to save your husband. He's been taking care of all of us-and yes that means you too Peter- for years. If he can take care of all of us, he can take care of himself." Lucy said soothingly. Susan gaped at her.

"Lu he's wondering around the witch's castle with Trumpkin. I love the DLF as much as you do but I'm still worried. They don't know what's going to happen in that place!'' she yelped.

"But he can take care of himself. And he's with Trumpkin. What's the worst that could happen?"

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><p>The Giant was huge.<p>

And he meant HUGE. And stupid. So very very stupid. But that didn't mean Trumpkin and Edmund could take him.

He may have been the stupidest thing Edmund had ever meant but he was just so _big! At least _fifty feet tall. Edmund couldn't even see past the brutes giant hairy belly, a sight that would be very hard to un-see. But that didn't mean the giant couldn't see them.

Half way. They made it half way to the castle before they got caught. He was a like a bloody skyscraper, how did they miss that? The two were just riding along quietly on the way to impending doom when out of nowhere a boulder came out of no where and landed like, fifteen yards in front of them. Edmund hadn't known whether to laugh or turn his horse around and run when the droll giant lumbered clumsily out of the trees about 100 yards from the side with the silliest grin on his face. Trumpkin had about fallen off his horse but Edmund had just blinked several times like some sort of bloody rabbit.

"I Bumblehoof." the Giant announced loudly. Despite the overwhelming danger they were in, Edmund could not hold back a snicker when the great stupid brute opened his mouth and laughed inanely, revealing one tiny white front tooth in a mouth of about seven huge black teeth gnarled and scraggly at the edges. 'Baby teeth' Trumpkin had mumbled.

Two steps later the enormous brute was standing only a few yards away, bending himself practically in half to get a look at Edmund and Trumpkin. (Although Edmund didn't know how he saw anything through those enormous matted with blood eye brows).

Edmund heard Trumpkin gulp loudly and shift uncomfortably in his saddle. Edmund had to admit now that the giant was spitting distance away from him, he was getting quite nervous. He cleared his own throat.

"Hullo Bumblehoof. I'm Togglebog and this is...Sassifras." he said loud and clear. Trumpkin's head snapped over to him, his eyes blazing. "Sassifras? Why I outta-"

"So, Bumblehoof. What brings you here all the way from Ettinsmoor?" Edmund asked in a strangely high pitched voice. He eyed the 10 foot long knife on the belt of his loincloth and the blood splatters on the blade. He shuddered.

"Me no from Eating More. Me From Tella-Tally-Telli-Tellymarry-" he scrunched his ugly face in concentration as he tried to remember the name.

"Telmar."

Edmund and Trumpkin both corrected the struggling giant.

"Yes yes! Me from Tellymarr. You make pretty pet." he said loudly with a silly smile. Edmund scrunched his brow.

"Giants do not live in Telmar." he said skeptically. Bumblehoof grinned proudly.

"Bumblehoof the only one in Tellymarr. Me hired."

"Hired?" Edmund and Trumpkin said together. He nodded and somehow managed to make the entire ground shake.

"Kingy hired me. Me supposed to go find pretty lady Queen Susan and bring her back. Mr. Princey will be real happy and give me great reward." he said stupidly. The silly grin on his face made Edmund even angrier if that was possible.

Edmund's eyes widened in shock and he could not speak for a moment. And then his surprise turned into rage. Pure undeniable rage. His sword hand was shaking so violently he was making his horse nervous. He couldn't have told you what Trumpkin's reaction was for his vision went red at the edges. He had half a mind just to keep riding to Telmar and strangle that arrogant toe rag in his sleep! Tristan had _actually hired_ a giant of all things to kidnapp Susan and bring her back to Telmar. He hoped Tristan came to Narnia because when he did, he was going to kill him. And he would not be doing it with mercy. Oh yes, Tristan better watch his back.

"That's my sister." he managed to spit out in a low dangerous voice a few moments later. Every letter wavered with anger. He could almost see the steam bubbling out of his skin from his boiling blood. Bumblehoof however, looked delighted.

"Oh Goody! Then you know where I can find pretty Queen lady! Which way is her house?"

Trumpkin rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Blithering idiot..." he mumbled under his breath.

"I'm afraid I cannot tell you my friend. Because over my dead body is my sister going to that wasteland to see that son of hag." Edmund growled in his throat. His muscles were burning with anger and his brain was starting to crumble under the weight of his wrath. Tristan was going to die. Painfully. And as soon as possible.

Bumblehoof looked confused and then a smile spread across his face and he looked delighted. (If this was a cartoon, a light-bulb would have turned on above his head)

"Pretty Lady is your sister? You are two pods in a pea? Oh then you must be King Edmund. Mr. Prince Tristan talks about you lots. Just show me where you live and me and Pretty Sissy will be on our way," he said contentedly. Edmund wanted to scream.

"No! That's my sister!" he yelled, a bit louder than he intended.

"Back off your Majesty," Trumpkin whispered to the irate king. "NO! That's my sister he's talking about. That's my sister Trumpkin! Tristan hired a giant to _steal _my sister!" he yelled at the Dwarf. Trumpkin didn't even bat an eye.

Bumblehoof frowned at the two strange little men arguing in front of him. What a queer little place, this Narnia.

"What a queer little man! You two be pretty pets! I know! I'll take you home and then after you stop being such an angry little fellow you take me to get Pretty Sissy!" Bumblehoof announced rather loudly. He started to laugh and then jumped up and down excitedly. It was like the entire world was crumbling when the massive giant came back down. A giant crack opened up in the ground right underneath Trumpkin's pony.

The Red Dwarf gasped as he was nearly thrown out of his saddle sideways. Edmund screamed when the DLF slid out of his saddle altogether, his eyes wide and surprised. Edmund dug his heels into his horses side and the black stallion lunged forward and tossed his mane impressively as Edmund latched his hand onto his saddle horn and stretched out his other. For one horrible minute Edmund thought that Trumpkin and his pony were just going to fall into the Earth but right in the nick of time Edmund's hand closed around Trumpkin's wrist. (If he had been Susan he would have been remarkably reminded of a reversed situation in the Narnian Revolution).

Trumpkin's little pony had somehow managed to scramble off over the side of the crumbling crack and was now sprinting wildly towards the castle. Edmund's own horse whinnied and started backing up wildly from the crumbling edge of the crack. A huge chuck of the cracked Earth started to slide right beneath the horse's feet. Edmund's heart gave a little somersault. This was it. All of this to fall into a hole two miles away from the castle.

His body gave an enormous lurch forward and he opened his mouth to scream but and enormous force knocked into his stomach and only a gust of air came out. Bumblehoof laughed as he closed his hand tightly around Edmund's waist and plucked the DLF out of midair effortlessly.

"Silly silly Sassifras. Come on Pets, lets go home. You'll love it there in my brand new cave. I founded it just yesterday. It's big and wet and slimy and its got a big doorway and..."

Bumblehoof droned on and on for what seemed like hours to Edmund. He shook his head and sighed to himself. One day. They had been riding for one day and already some great giant was squeezing them like bloody hamsters and babbling on and on about his new cave. Both of the horses had managed to run away..along with Edmund's sword and Trumpkin's bow. Oh yes, this was going to be a long adventure. And every enormous step Bumblehoof took was taking them one step farther from saving Caspian.

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><p>The Telmarine soldier did not know what was so important about this tiny little note but he had been payed handsomely to place it on the Queen's pillow. A slight feeling of unease crept over the young soldier but he merely jingled the coins in his pocket and kept walking. Thirteen gold coins is thirteen gold coins.<p>

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><p>Peter's head hurt.<p>

It was like every drop of blood in the country was pounding against his skull. He felt like a dozen poisonous spiders were sinking their pinchers into the flesh behind his eyeball and sucking all of the sense out of him. After all those nights staying up at all hours, approving laws, taking audiences, writing proclamations, settling disputes, he had never had a headache more excruciating in his entire life. He felt for sure that some sort of dark evil was perched in the crevices of his brain and trying to turn his head inside out.

Edmund was on his way to some Aslan forsaken castle trying to find some bloody cordial to heal his poisoned brother, Lucy was bursting into hysterical tears at random moments of the day, Susan was absolutely terrified and running about the castle like a chicken with her head cut off. Not to mention that she was mad. Spitting mad. And of course she couldn't just be mad about the fact that her husband had been poisoned by a perverted prince that was after her like a normal person. Oh no, she also had to be mad at Peter for letting Edmund who was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, out on a dangerous mission to heal her husband.

Perfect.

Caspian had gotten slightly better in the last day. He had tried once to get out of bed and had wondered all the way down to the kitchen before falling on his face and having to yell for one of the guards to carry him up the stairs. He was still sick as a dog and in pain almost every moment but the agony had slowly began to ebb away. But that didn't help Susan's mood. She was most dangerous when something was wrong with her family. He pitied the lord that tried to complain about a Bunny eating the apples out of his garden to Susan.

A few days ago Lord Adrian had made the horrible mistake of trying to blame the king's poisoning on Matio, the main chef for the castle. He had never seen Susan so ferocious as she was that moment. She was absolutely silent. And that was the scariest part about it.

When Susan was really really really mad, she would scream and throw her hands in the air and pace like a caged leopard and throw things. But when she was absolutely livid, she went silent. And it was utterly utterly terrifying. Her siblings instinctively had taken several steps back and remained as still as possible. But not Lord Adrian. Oh no, he thought the Queen was simply ignoring him or did not care. And so he started to yell. And pace and throw his hands off. That's when Peter and Edmund very gently had Susan removed from the corridor and put in 'time out' as Lu called it. (Really they just made her sit in her and Caspian's bedroom alone for a few minutes until she stopped yelling and trying to throw things.)

The High King groaned and tried for the fifty thousandth time that day to rub out his aching temples. All of the torches and stones in the main corridor seemed to blend into one as he half haphazardly stumbled down the hallway to go see Caspian for the five millionth time. He had just turned into one of the tightest corridors in the castle, the one leading to the High King and Queen's bedchambers, when a tall slender shadow came flying down the hallway at an almost impossible speed from the opposite direction.

Because of his uncharacteristically poor vision due to his splitting headache, at first he thought it was his mother and became horribly confused. "Mum? What are you doing here?" he shouted down the hallway as he began to swagger down the hallway as quickly as he could manage while his head was practically being torn apart. Susan flew down the hallway and stopped right in front of him with an utterly confused and utterly terrified look on her pale as snow face. Peter's shoulders slumped slightly.

"Oh. It's you." he said unenthusiastically. She shook her head almost violently, sending a shower of tears splattering on the stone floor. It was like a needle was shoved through Peter's heart when the dim torch light fell on her face and the tears tracks and smudged makeup almost popped out at him. The one thing he didn't see was the small scrap of paper clutched tightly in her left hand.

Even her lips were white and her entire body was shaking so violently it was like an earthquake was happening inside of her. He grabbed her forearm.

"What happened? Susan what happened!Look at me! What happened Susan Pevensie!'' He said in a firm but gentle tone. She didn't answer and only threw her arms around Peter's neck.

"Peter! Peter something is going to happen. Something horrible Peter! I don't know what and I don't know when but something horrible is going to happen to you or Lu or Caspian! And I don't know I don't know what or when or who but something horrible." she choked out in a shaky voice. If Peter had read the paper maybe he would have known.

Maybe he would have believed her or seen it comming or been able to do something. But he didn't.

He pulled away. He pulled away for one split second; something that he would regret for the rest of his life but also something that saved his life. When he pulled away to look at her face for that one split second, a flash of black flew barely an inch from his face, brushing the bridge of his nose. He jumped and his head whipped around wildly. Susan didn't even scream but the one thing Peter would remember forever was the look in her eyes. Horror. Pure unaltered horror. A split second later a Peter heard a twang and instinctively turned towards the small sound. Susan gasped and tried to knock Peter to the ground but in that half a second between the arrow being fired and it burrying itself into Peter's side he gave her a hard shove that sent her just out of range of a second arrow that stuck in the stone right where her throat had been not a second ago.

Pain exploded all through Peter's body and he screamed. The one thing he remembered was looking at his sister and seeing the horrified look on her face as she stared at the blossoming blood on the side of his torso. She couldn't even scream. The blood just kept flowing out of her brother. And she was frozen. Paralyzed, almost. Peter slumped sligthly against the wall but did not scream or even close his eyes. Susan lunged forward with tears in her eyes and tore off the hem of her dress without a second thought to the fact that the assinators could still be shooting and wrapped the cloth around his waist with trembling fingers.

She never noticed the little scrap of paper with the spot of blood on the left corner that drifted out of her hand but the words would forever be branded into her very soul.

_Husband or family, take your pick. Choose carefully little queen, you have so much to loose. And so much blood to shed._

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><p><strong><em>Review review review!<em>**


	13. This is Going to Be a Problem

**Hello everyone! wow the last chapter got far more hits than I expected! But only a few snatches of feedback. Don't be afraid to tell me what you think and click that little button at the bottom! It'll only take a second and I promise it really easy:) lol so I hope this chapter makes sense! Just a warning, the little tidbit with your favorite Telmarine Kings (I threw that in there especially for you, obsessedchick15;) may not make much sense but I was really trying to let you get an insight to the plan without completely giving away my plot although now it should be pretty obvious. Oh, and i am A beta reader now! So if you have a story you would like me to take a look at, just send me a PM or email your story. Hope you all enjoy!**

**I don't own Chronicles of Narnia! obviously, since this is a fanfic site i do not. ANd this is the last time I am going to do a disclaimer so yeah.**

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><p>Edmund was in a cage.<p>

A cold hard, iron cage. In a corner. In a cold dark cave. With cold dark light wavering in through a small hole in the ceiling.

He had never been treated like an animal. Like...he was made of stuffing and he could not think or feel or breath. Even in England, where he was just an insignificant piece of dust that didn't even exist in the eyes of...anyone, he had never been treated like this. No one deserved this.

He was soaking wet, utterly ill, starved out of his mind and he saw no chance of any way out. The only thought that kept him from swearing on his crown that he was going to kill this beast was that Bumblehoof truly did not realize he was torturing Edmund or Trumpkin. He did not realize that the enormous cup of water hung from the gigantic cage would tip about fifteen gallons of water all over the prisoner. Or that him shaking the cage when he or Trumpkin would not answer a question made them sick and rattled their brains. But that wasn't the worst part, oh no.

Edmund had never been trapped in a place where he could not see the sky.

Or the Sun.

Or the trees.

And those were the things he needed the most. Because they reminded him of his family. If he could see the world, it was like his sisters and brothers were standing right behind him to watch his back. He saw them in everything.

The sky.

Susan's eyes.

The Sun.

Peter's hair.

The moon.

Lucy's eyes.

The trees.

Caspian.

He NEEDED to see the sky. He NEEDED to see the sun. He NEEDED to see the moon. He NEEDED to see the trees. Because they were his life. They were his LIFE. If he could not see the sky, this horrible fear that something horrible had happened to Susan crept into his mind. And every time a cloud drifted over the sun, he flinched, for he could not feel his brother next to him anymore.

But when the moon was invisible in the sky and covered by darkness, oh that was the scariest of all.

He had been through so much with his older sister. He had seen Rabadash run his hands all over her and seen her screaming and crying and seen her flinch and squirm every time a man asked her to dance or tried to nonchalantly put a hand on her knee or hold her hand. And there was this fierce instinct to protect her inside of him. Maybe he didn't hover over her and stalk her suitors and follow their every move and purposely talk to someone standing where he could easily see her and her suitor like Peter did did not mean he didn't worry about her.

It did not mean that he would turn around and pretend he hadn't seen it when he would turn a corner and see Caspian with his face glued to his sister's and his hand wandering down her sides and across her back. He loved Caspian but it did not mean he had not wanted to slap his hands away when his arms would wrap around Susan's waist when they were courting. He was not crazy obsessive protective over his sister but he would still wake up in a fit and rush to her room to make sure nothing was wrong. The difference, the real difference, between Peter and Edmund as far as Susan went was trust. Edmund hated to see men flock around her and treat her like she was a possession to be won but he trusted that she would put the suitors in their place when they were going to far.

It was not that Peter did not trust Susan or her judgment it was the boys he did not trust. He did not trust that they would be able to control themselves or obey her when she politely shrugged them off. Peter did not trust those men. Edmund did not either but his trust in Susan was stronger than his distrust for the male race.

If something happened to Susan it was….awful. Agonizing. It tormented him every day. A tearing ripping nagging excruciating agony that killed him piece by piece. But if something happened to Lucy…oh, he could not even think of it!

Perhaps it was a little odd for a young man to be so protective of an older sister but Lucy was his baby sister. If something happened to her, it was his JOB as her big brother, to make her feel better and keep her safe. Lucy. Sweet, innocent, lovable, optimistic little Lu. If something happened to her, he didn't know what he would do. No matter how old she got, Lucy would always be the baby. Whether she was fourteen or forty, Lu would always be the baby. Edmund sighed for a moment.

How nice it would be to be Lucy where there was always a big brother or sister to make everything better.

He took his duty as an older brother very seriously. He was not as obsessive and controlling and paranoid as Peter could be but that was only because he forced himself not to be. He had let so much happen to his big sister and every time he saw those clouds drift over the moon this determination to shut out all the evils of the world to his innocent little sister bubbled and boiled inside of him. He turned to Trumpkin who was slumped miserably in the cage next to him.

"Do you think everyone is okay at home?"

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><p><em>The door creaked open and the young man crept in nervously, stopping several feet before the looming dark figure staring out the window and the icy rain pattering on the tower below. <em>

_"Is the job done?" _

_"Yes my lord. Both kings are soundly in the hospital wing. King Peter will not be walking for at least three or four days without that Queens are on their own my liege."_

_"What of the other King of Old? He is out. Find him. Before someone else does."_

_"But milord, we do not where he hath run off to.''_

_The shadowy figure whirled around and hurled a red tipped arrow towards the younger man. It pinned him down to the wall by the sleeve of his shirt. He shivered. Just an inch to the left and he would have been no more._

_"I said find him. And bring him back to me. Oh, and the little girl. Keep an eye on her. Tomorrow, we make our escape with our pretty little friend."_

_The younger man frowned and pulled the red feathered arrow, Queen Susan's arrow, out of his shirt cautiously. _

_"But my lord, I thought we were supposed to wait under King Kasim gave the orders? He is hoping to wait quite a while to catch them off guard." he said slowly. Uncertainly._

_The shadowy figure snarled and then laughed mirthlessly. "Now think a little. After dinner tonight, The Traitor King will be too ill to open his eyes and King Peter will so drugged with pain relief that he will not be able to remember his own name. The little one is no problem for us and our lovely little friend will be too frazzled and upset to even put up a fight. His Majesty will thank us.''_

_"And so will his son."_

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><p>Things were not alright at home.<p>

Peter was gushing blood and screaming about wanting to kill Tristan and ordering the guards to lock his sisters up in their rooms so they would be safe;Lucy was sobbing hysterically, Caspian had no idea what was going on and was not allowed to see anyone and was yelling like a mad man because all he heard was that someone shot at his wife. And Susan, Susan was frantic. She was-she was _frantic._

And the Professor gently trying to usher her out of Peter's room because he was freaking out about her being alright didn't help. The Professor cared for both of the Queens like his own daughters and he hated to have to have one of the palace guards physically take Susan out of the room. Lucy was sobbing and wailing and crying as if her heart would break but Susan was an absolute mess.

Her gown was splattered with Peter's blood, she had makeup all over her face, she was screaming Peter's name over and over and she was yelling and babbling and rambling endlessly about a note. She was crying and crying and crying and felt like she couldn't stop. One of the guards had to stand behind her and lock is arms around her stomach, pining her arms to her side just to get her to her bedroom. And that definitely did not go over well.

Not only was she absolutely frantic, she was mad. She was angry. She was so angry. She wasn't allowed to go see her own brother...! And Tristan-oh she couldn't even think his name she was so angry. She hoped he came for her next. Because when he did, she was going to kill him. She was going to kill him over and over and over and over again until he felt even a fraction of the pain he had put her family through.

She was absolutely livid. Lucy had never seen her soft spoken, strong, patient, calm, level headed, sweetly gentle and caring sister so mad. Or scared.

Susan was not just angry; she was terrified. She was totally completely one-hundred and ten percent terrified. She shuddered as she pictured the blood soaked note that had been in her hand the moment her brother and herself were shot at.

_The door was wide open. For a split second her heart gave a little somersault and she thought that maybe Caspian had been allowed back into their room. Susan HATED sleeping by herself. After being married to Caspian seeing that empty spot on the bed next to her made her want to cry. She missed him. She missed him so much. She missed him brushing kisses along her shoulders and jaws in the middle of the night. She missed him whispering into her hair until she fell asleep. She missed waking up with his arms around her waist and his chest against her back, his face in her hair. She missed his arms around her and his woodsy musky smell wafting around her. She missed how husky his voice got late late at night and how his hair covered most of his face when he slept. She missed how sweet he could be, almost like a little boy cuddling up to his mommy. She missed waking up in the arms of the one person she loved more than anything in the world. She missed it so much she couldn't stand it. She couldn't stand it. Caspian was the only person she had ever slept with and after only being married for three months she could not even imagine ever sleeping without him next to her. It was like...sleeping in a dungeon. She hated not waking up next to him or feeling his lips moving against her skin. _

_So she had refused to. She couldn't be in that bedroom by herself. As silly and needy as it sounded, she couldn't. She needed him next to her at night._

_She for a week and a half she slept on a chair in Caspian's sickroom. It was not as good as cuddling up beside him and falling asleep in his arms but it was as close as she could be to him._

_And so when she saw the bedroom door ajar, she figured that maybe Caspian would be laying on the bed waiting for her. But when she walked into the room, she felt it. When she walked into the room, her skin crawled. There was no Caspian waiting for her and yet the covers were wrinkled and Caspian's pillow was even on the floor, the sheet flipped back. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as her eye caught something laying on her pillow. It was a note. _

_A slow smile spread across her face. Could this be a note from her dear sweet husband?_

_As soon as she touched the crinkled piece of paper, she knew it wasn't. It made her fingertips tinge and her stomach churn. She unfolded it and struggled to read the strange looping words that made spots dance before her eyes. _

_Husband or family, take your pick. Choose carefully little queen; you have so much to lose. And so much blood to shed. _

Her blood curdled and her knees wobbled and the looped spiky black words danced before her teary eyes. Someone had actually been in their room. He had actually been in there. The very air seemed different. Tainted.

_Husband or family, take your pick._

That was the part that scared her the most. Every since Caspian had proposed to her, this terrible fear that someday she would be forced to choose between her husband and her siblings had been slowly but surely, planting roots into her very soul. From the very moment Kasim kissed her hand at their wedding she could see the evil he had in stock for her family. It was right there in front of her, in his eyes. And that was the thing that scared her the most. That someone could even be capable of such evil. How could someone thrive so much on the pain of others? How can someone possibly want to cause another human being so much pain?

How could you even THINK that way?

* * *

><p>"Father what are you waiting for! It has been several weeks now, close to a month. Tomorrow is the first of February and not a single soldier has been recruited." Tristan hissed at his father. Kasim gritted his teeth.<p>

"Did you learn nothing from our time at that bloody palace you foolish boy?" he said in a low dangerous voice.

"I told you we were going to observe the Traitor King and his Queen. Or were you too busy making doe eyes at the filthy Narnian to notice how the King acted around her?" he said bitterly.

Tristan blinked several times. He had never been spoken to so in his life. Everyone was too frightened of his father to dare insult his son. Including his sisters.

"Father I-"

"He holds her as if she is the last morsel of food on the planet. He looks at her as if she walks on water. He speaks to her as if every word could be his last. He kisses her like he would die without her. And yet you cannot see why I wait!"

Now Tristan is utterly lost. If the king had been talking to his general or one of the lords he would have punched them squarely in the jaw for their foolishness.

"He needs her. If we take her away from her we take away his life. It is to be said that his soul was utterly shattered when three years ago when her and her filthy family were gone. I have seen him with her he makes his feelings concerning her safety very clear."

"And do you think if something happened to that that dirty minx he would think for even one second of marrying another?"

Tristan shook his head bitterly. He wanted the Queen desperately and this traitor was standing in his way. And when he wanted something, he got it.

"Of course not! If you want to break a king like Caspian X, the only way to go is taking away something he values. I wait for the me this my son, if something happens to his Barbarian queen before she bares him a son, he will never have an heir. For he will not marry another. But we must wait to give them that chance. Imagine the heartbreak of the king when his wife and child are found with arrows through their hearts.''

He turned to his son with an evil smile.

"And with the queen in his bed, I do not think we will have to wait too much longer before we can make our move."

Both men turned to the door when a small gasp was heard from the hallway. Although Kasim thought nothing of it when a snatch of golden skirts vanished around the corner. And perhaps he should have.

* * *

><p>Caspian was worried out of his mind. He could not even think straight he was so worried. He was completely in the dark. And that enraged him. He was the bloody High King! If something happened to his family and especially his wife he should damn well be the first to know about it!<p>

All he had heard was that his wife and Peter had been shot at in the hallway outside his and Susan's room. He had no idea that Peter was in the room next to him, gushing blood. Or that his wife was locked up in her room like a mad person sobbing and yelling and crying and fighting.

But the worst was yet to come. And perhaps if he had known that, he would not have left his bedroom to demand to know what was going on. But truthfully, it was all happening with every step he took.


	14. The Bigger Person

**sorry for the unusually long update! i have been MEGA MEGA busy lately. And school for me starts next Wednesday so i will try and get up another chapter before then but then my chapters will be a little longer between but hopefully my chapters will be longer. Enjoy!**

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><p>"<em>We wait until midnight."<em>

"_What if we are spotted?"_

"W_e will not be."_

"_Yes but what if we are_?"

"_But what if we are not_?"

"_But what if we are?_"

"_He will have our heads for his wall if we do not get her out."_

"_Probably."_

"_He specifically instructed we wait until his orders came."_

"_Indeed."_

_''What about the giant? The King hired the giant to do the job when he was instructed. There must be a reason the King has waited for so long."_

"_I do not think this going to work."_

"_Possibly."_

"_And if it doesn't?"_

"_Simple. We kill them all."_

"_And what if they fight back?"  
><em>

_"They won't."_

"_But what if they do?"_

_"They won't!"_

_"But what if they do!"_

"_Crush them all."_

* * *

><p>Matio was making pie. Cherry pie, actually. It was King Caspian's favorite. And he already had set his son off to inquire for a recipe from Queen Lucy. Brownies, he believed they were called. He had once been told by King Edmund that they were her favorite. Queen Susan's, of course. The poor thing had been so shaken up and distraught over everything that had happened lately that he was sure she deserved some special little treat. And so he continued kneading the dough and greasing the pans for another ten or fifteen minutes while he rummaged around for eggs, sugar and butter.<p>

He glared at the massive door to the royal kitchens. He sent his son out nearly twenty five minutes ago to get the recipe, it was nearly eight o' clock at night and he had not even put the pies in the oven or started on the-what were they called?-brownies! Matio sighed in exasperation and went back to rolling the crust on the pie.

Fifteen minutes later Matio slammed his rolling pin down on the counter next to the freshly baked pie. "Where is that boy!" he muttered as he tore off his apron and waddled out the door as fast as his chubby legs would carry him.

And he should not have done that.

* * *

><p>Arianna came tearing down the palace hallway as fast as her short little legs would carry her, stumbling and falling and tripping every three steps or so. And her heavy golden skirts were not helping that fact. Perhaps it was not a good idea to try on all of Malicia's dresses for the extra five inches of fabric at the bottom did not make tearing down the hallway any easier. Her little fingers were clutching the massive skirt folds so tightly her dainty fingernails were digging into her palms so tightly a thin stream of blood was trickling down Malicia's skirt. Her very veins seemed to be shaking and her heart was beating so fast it was now just a loud hum instead of a steady beat.<p>

Her curly hair was flying out of its already messy bun and whipping around her face, sticking to her tear tracks and glossed lips. She had never been so...scared in her whole life. What she had just heard come out of her own father's mouth had made her blood run cold. Her own father! She knew her father was...well, a bit evil but this-this was horrible!

She didn't completely understand what her fathers twisted plan was exactly but she had a pretty good idea. Her brain felt like it was seeping out her ears and her legs were made of iron. Suddenly the complicated palace she had memorized like the back of her hands was foreign and unfamiliar. The hallways were spinning, the floor was tilting and the walls were crumbling around her. She felt like she was in one of her dreams where she needs to find her mother right that moment and she kept getting farther and farther away down the hallway and her already blurry features were getting fuzzier and fuzzier.

But this was not a dream. This was her life. This was her real life. Real people were in danger. Real people were going to die if she did not tell someone _this second. _Her real father was planning on killing them. No, worse he was planning on not killing them. He was planning on letting them live. He was planning on killing the queen to spite the king. To make him suffer. Kasim wanted to make King Caspian hurt. He wanted to make him hurt like nobody's business. Arianna had been only a few seconds old when her mother had died and she had never lost anyone else close to her.

Oh yes, she had seen more death than the innocent eyes of an eleven year old should ever have to but she did not understand pain. Deep, horrifying, soul shattering pain. But she did understand love. She did understand just by the look in his eyes how much King Caspian loved Queen Susan. She could not even imagine how painful it would be for him to lose her. The thought was unthinkable; that her father could even wish that kind of pain upon another human being. And her father did not just want to get Queen Susan, he wanted to make sure that King Caspian would never conceive an heir. But not only that, he wanted Caspian to suffer as much as possible. Arianna could not fully comprehend her father's plan and didn't quite catch every word he said but she was no fool.

And so she ran. And ran and ran and ran and ran. Frantically. For the first time in her life she cursed the elaborate passages and winding staircases. The blood seemed to pound in her ears even louder with every step she took. She had to find Mariella. She had to get to her as quickly as she possibly could. Mariella would know what to do. If only she could find her! Arianna had been to the garden, the library, the courtyard, the kitchen and now she was on her way to her sisters room.

Arianna was on the verge of tears when she hurtled around the corner leading to her and her sisters' chambers when she spotted beautiful sweet Mariella slipping out of her bedroom quietly in her baby blue bathrobe and turning towards the kitchen's. Arianna summoned every breathe of air left in her lungs and let out a squall of pure elation and staggered towards her sister as quickly as the spinning corridor would allow.

Mariella's beautiful dark brown eyes widened in surprise for a moment as she turned and saw Arianna absolutely _flying _down the hallway towards her. She looked like a wild woman with her over sized dirty dress, crazed eyes and messy tangled hair.

"Arianna? Honey breathe. Is something wrong; are you hurt?" She asked cautiously as she met her baby sister halfway and bent down to her level, sweeping an unruly lock of beautiful thick hair behind her ears. Arianna was terrified and gasping and panting a wheezing for air. Mariella was starting to get just a bit worried. She put a slender hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Honey breathe. What's wrong? What happened? Is it Tristan? Is it Daddy?" Arianna started trembling and whimpering and sobbing and quaking so violently Mariella nearly had a heart attack.

''D-d-daddy...is gonna...he-he's gonna...Queen Susan...baby...Caspian...baby...kill" she wheezed between coughs.

Now Mariella was on the verge of a panic. She grabbed Arianna's arm and whisked her into her bedroom, gently pushing her against the door and squatting down so she could look Arianna in the eye. She waited as patiently as she could while she tried to give her sister a chance to catch her breath. But finally she couldn't wait any longer and felt her heart was going to explode.

She titled Arianna's chin to look at her. "Audi, what happened?What baby?Caspian, is he alright; what about King Peter?Susan? Baby talk to me!"

Fifteen minutes later Mariella couldn't breathe. Her brain was swimming around in her head as she tried to make sense of the jumbled bit of conversation her sister had heard. This was bad. This was really bad. She ran a hand through her hair nervously and blew the loose strands away from her face restlessly. She rubbed her temples. It was like her brain had stopped working. She knew that she should knew exactly what all this meant but she was so surprised that she was drawing a blank. Arianna was terrified and bawling her eyes out and Mariella was just standing there like a fool doing nothing. Arianna looked up to her. She was the only one in the family that was semi decent to her for Aslan's sake! Arianna came to her when she most needed someone to listen to her and understand. And Mariella had no idea what in the hell she was supposed to do now.

And then, she had it. Out of the blue, it was there.

She clapped a hand over her mouth and stood up shakily, turning around for a moment and then turning back to her sister with wide eyes.

"Dear Aslan he is going to wait until she is pregnant to kill her."

* * *

><p>The door was wide open.<p>

He smiled to himself as he gripped the vial in his hand and rubbed his calloused fingers around the top and sides. Perhaps for just a fraction of a moment his stomach gave a little flutter and he felt just a twinge of guilt in the very pit of his stomach. But then he thought of all of those _creatures_ and _animals _running around Narnia and the guilt was gone and the hatred burned inside him once more. Filthy Narnians.

A cold sneer spread across his twisted face as he casually checked the hallway both ways for anyone who might ruin the plan. With one last glance over his shadow he slipped through the wide open door and searched the kitchen thoroughly for any unwanted visitors before quickly sneaking over to the counter. And there it was, cooling on the counter, the very pie that would be King Caspian's undoing. He openly laughed at the pain he was about to cause with just a flick of the wrist. And the pie was still warm. Excellent.

The amphatike would settle in perfectly. No one would ever know.

Without taking his eyes of the tempting pie for even a moment, he uncorked the tiny vial and held it up to the light, chuckling as the liquid sizzled and bubbled. He paused for a moment. This had to be done _very _carefully. One drop too many could kill the man and ruin the entire plan. And then he would be as dead as that traitor. No, he had to be absolutely positively precisely sure he put in exactly six drops in the pie. If even just a few drops slipped in, everything would be over. If he killed King Caspian, that would be the end of him. For King Kasim wanted the king to suffer. As well as his wife.

So he slowly tipped the vial. One drop. Two. Three. Four. Five...he took a deep breath and leaned his face in closer. The drop trembled and wobbled on the edge of the crystal vial before it finally slipped into the innocent desert. He breathed a sigh of relief and capped it quickly and jammed it into his armor pocket. The pie looked no different. No one would ever know. It smelled as delicious as ever. He smiled to himself and slipped back out the door after checking he was all alone in the corridor.

His job was complete. The plan had begun.

* * *

><p>The hallway was chilly. The stone was numbing Susan's toes as she crept down the hallway. She tugged her ratty old bathrobe closer around her and shivered in the eerie moonlight. After everything that had happened in the last few weeks, Susan was paranoid. She hated to be alone. She hated it. She needed to be around people. She had to have people around her. And when Doctor Cornelius had very nicely asked that she not sleep in the chair anymore, she couldn't stand the idea of sleeping in that big bed all by herself. The thought horrified her. It was like sleeping in a grave.<p>

Maybe if she could just get away from everything and go sit in the courtyard for just a moment, she wouldn't feel so awful. Maybe if she could just get away for a few moments and feel the cool air and the peace of the courtyard, she wouldn't feel like she was going to explode.

Something horrible was going to happen. She knew it. She just knew. Soon. Something awful was going to happen very very soon. To someone she loved very very much. And the note was right; she had so much to loose. A husband, a sister, two brothers, a kingdom. Narnia had been taken away from her in the blink of an eye; she had never even seen it coming. And it could all be taken away from her so easily again. Her life was like a candle waiting to be blown out. And Telmar was a strong gust of wind.

* * *

><p>Inego did not feel right.<p>

No, he did not feel right about this at all. This was wrong. This was so, so wrong. He felt disgusted. Weak. Horrified. Ashamed. Spineless.

What kind of monster was he? He did not deserve to bear the sign of Aslan on his armor. He did not deserve to walk these hallowed halls. He did not deserve to speak to the Kings and Queens of Old. He did not deserve to wield the sword of a Narnian. He did not deserve to be trusted. He was a weak, spineless little snake.

He knew this was wrong. He _knew_ this would eternally condemn him, his family, his ancestors. And yet, he was still walking down the private chamber hallway, just like he usually would on his patrol, waiting for the signal. And yet he was still there holding that ghastly cross bow in his arms, waiting. Waiting to become a true Telmarine, something he had sworn he would never be. Since the moment his father had fled Narnia after murdering his wife for giving him only one son and six daughters, he made an oath to himself he would not be like that. Like him.

He would not be a liar. He would not be a backstabber. He would not be greedy for power. He would not chase after money. He would not be a murderer. He would not be a Telmarine.

That's why he had become a palace guard in the first place. That it why he spent his whole life working towards seeing that scarlet lion on the the face of his shield. That is why he swore in the name of Aslan to protect his King, Caspian X,_ the Telmarine Who Saved Narnia. _

Oh how he admired that man.

The Telmarine Who Saved Narnia. How he marveled at the words. Caspian was the kindest, most fair, level headed, honest, brave, courageous, intelligent, strong, man Inego had ever known. And Caspian was a Telmarine. Just like him. King Caspian grew up around lies and double meaning and deceit _just like him. _

But Caspian X was bigger than the evil that seemed to be rooted in the very soul of Telmar. There was something stronger than treachery and blood lust and deceit inside the king. And Inego spent his entire life, since the time he was eighteen, to be just like Caspian X.

But now, as he looked down at the poison tipped around poised in his arms and the Telmarine sword on his hip, he felt only disgust. His King would never carry such evil within him. And here Inego stood, waiting. Just waiting, nothing else. Waiting to prove to himself that he was not good enough. That he was Telmarine. Not a Telmarine like Caspian but a Telmarine like Miraz and Caspian the Conqueror and his father and his grandfather and his uncles and cousins. He was no better than he was. He was no better than them.

And that tortured and tormented him. He SWORE to himself and to his country to follow the path of his King, and now he was taking the path that lead to the pain and ultimate suffering of his king. He was a liar. He was worse than a liar, he was a traitor. And he knew he was better better than this, better than Kasim. He was better than these dark twisted games.

And that was the worst part, he knew he was better and yet here he was, waiting for his opportunity. Waiting for them, waiting to hurt them. If his dear friends did their part of this sick twisted game, he shouldn't have to wait much longer. Right about now the queen should be getting out of bed to check on her husband after being tragically informed her husband had fone into another one of his fits after ingesting another dose of amphatike. His hand shook so heavily his crossbow nearly clattered to the ground. He guped loudly and shivered as the beads of sweat dripped down his temples.

This was wrong. And he couldn't find it within himself to put an end to it. He couldn't be the bigger man. He couldn't save the lives or the pain.

_Walk away Inego, just walk away. You do not have to be like this, like them. You can stop this Inego just turn around and walk away. _

_Two steps, that's all it takes. Walk away Inego; just walk away._

"Inego, is that you?"

Inego groaned internally and if Susan a small whimper in the back of his throat, she pretended not to notice as she made her way from the other direction towards the body guard she knew so well. She raised one eyebrow slightly at the strange look on his face when he turned around albeit reluctantly.

"Is everything alright? You look...anxious." she asked slowly. Inego gulped. And another bead of sweat dripped down his face. Susan came closer to Inego. Ten feet away his eyes blinked rapidly. Seven feet and his hand flinched and his eyes twitched. Five he let out an emormous breath and his chest started rising and falling rapidly, like he was trying to hold back a sigh.

He closed his eyes and swallowed again. This was all so wrong. He was supposed to look her in the face and just...take her away. From her husband, from her family, from her life.

_Walk away Inego, just walk away. _

_"_I haven't seen you for so long Inego! How is your family? Your children, have you talked to them lately?" she asked brightly although her smile did not reach her eyes. Inego did not say anything. How could he?

"Fine. Just fine." he answered curtly. Susan blinked and then narrowed her eyes slightly at the familiar guard. Her eyes clouded.

"You know Inego, after everything that has been going on of late..." she face scrunched up in pain and Inego felt a crippling stab of guilt.

"I understand how busy you guards are and how important it is for all of you too be alert...but I was just on my way to the gardens for a bit of fresh air and I was wondering, well, I was hoping, that you would accompany me. I would prefer not to be alone right now." she said a bit sheepishly, ducking her head. Inego's lips pressed into a tight line.

_You don't have to be like them Inego. You can still be the good guy. _

_"_I need a friend."

_Let her go Inego, just let her go. _

_"_Of course milady. I would be honored."

_She doesn't deserve this much pain. Look at her face. _

She stopped at looked at him. Really looked at him. "Thank you."

_Let her go Inego. Don't be like him. You don't have to be the villian._

Susan turned and started walking the opposite direction. Inego closed his eyes and paused, the crossbow rough and cold beneath his fingertips. They walked in silence for perhaps twenty five seconds before it became uncomfortable and suffocating.

"Is there something you wish to tell me Inego?" she asked carefully.

_I am supposed to hold you at the point of my crossbow and threaten to shoot your sister if you do not follow me on a griffin to Telmar where you will be tortured and tormented for days before he finally kills you in front of your family._

"No Your Majesty. Nothing."

She searched his face for several long moments and Inego felt his walls crumbling and his heart beating faster. For only the second or third time he saw not the scared seventeen year old girl but the strong thirty year old woman staring up at him.

"Alright then." she said as she resisted the urge to roll her eyes. A few minutes later the silence was killing her. She stopped and stepped in front of her friend.

''I am going to aske you once more and I will not be doing so again. I expect the truth. Is there something you want me to know or tell me?"

"No Your Majesty. Nothing."

She threw her hands in the air.

"Do I look like like an idiot?" she demanded rather angrily. Inego was taken aback and blinked. What a proposterous thought!

"Of course not...!''

"Do you think I am stupid? That I cannot figure it out by the way you are acting that something very important is bothering you?"

Inego was silent for several moments. This was all so wrong.

_You can still be the good guy._

"My Queen is too trusting." he said finally in a slightly wavering voice. Susan tilted her head back sligthly but her face did not change. Although the second time he looked at her, he saw not the scared seventeen year old girl but the strong thirty year old woman staring up at him.

_She deserves to be happy._

"How so?" she said in a slow interested voice. He could hear the prickle in her voice.

Why was she making this so dang hard? Something inside of him seemed to almost crack and crumble.

He licked his lips several times and tried to get her to understand with his eyes. He ran his fingers up the side of the bow. He had to do this. He had to do this or Kasim would kill him. And he could not do that to his children. He HAD to do this. Every fiber of goodness in his body screamed at him not to. But he had to. He had to ruin her life to save his. Coward.

"You have put your trust in those that you should not." he whispered brokenly, his face twisted in shame and his eyes squeezed shut. He couldn't do this. He could not ruin his Kings life by kidnapping his queen.

_She deserves to live to have a baby. _

Susan's heart started to beat a little faster.

"What do you mean?" she said slowly.

Inego grabbed his hair in his hands and snarled at the ceiling, wandering a few steps away and mumbling worried to himself, his eyes still shut tight in shame.

_Don't do it. She is a good person. King Kasim is not. _

_She doesn't deserve this. You are not like them Inego. You can still be like Your King. Save his wife._

_You are not like your father. _

_You are not like them._

_You are not like them._

Inego let out one last snarl of irratation and grabbed the queen's arm and pulled her into a side hallway. His irration slipped away and a staggering, agonizing stab of guilt pierced through his heart when he saw the fear in her pretty eyes.

"You should not _trust _me your majesty. Can you not understand that!"he roared. Her eyes widened. He pressed her into the stone wall. She said nothing, only stared. His face was scrunched in absolute furry and the she had seen the look in his eye only on Miraz's face. For a moment she thought he was going to jab his crossbow right through her and stick it in the wall.

His face softened and she saw only pure remorse in his eyes. He bowed his head and let out a sort of sob.

"You should not trust me. I am a bad man your majesty." he choked out.

"I don't believe that. I trust you Inego." she said quietly. He bit his lip and shook his head.

"BUT YOU SHOULD NOT! Can you not understand that you smart, smart woman! I am a bad person Queen Susan; a bad person."

"I don't believe that. I know you, you are a very good person."

"_If you knew why I am speaking to you right now you would not think so."_

"But you're a good person!''

"I AM SUPPOSED TO KIDNAPP YOU!"

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><p><strong>sorry for the long update! hope yal like it and review review reveiw!<strong>


	15. Attack

***peaks nervously out from behind boulder and dodges flying vegatables* omg i am so sorry! I have been crazy crazy crazy busy since school started! I have had this in my head for so long but haven't had the time to get it down. Plus i was very stuck on the ending and had a little spasm of writers block. And just a little shout out to obsessedchick hang in there! The telmarines will get whats coming to them very, very soon. And i promise there will be a ton of Edmund in the last chapter and things will start looking up for him in a bit. And maybe someone else who was not in this chappie...**

**Enjoy and review!**

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><p>Edmund had been in that cage for three days.<p>

Three days of rocking and swinging and tripping and dripping and tipping and flooding over and starvation and sickness. He couldn't remember ever being so miserable in his whole entire life.

He had never felt so sick either. It was like his body was waging war on him. He was vomiting nearly every hour, his brain was throbbing and pulsing so violently he was sure his cranium was going to burst into a million pieces and clatter on the iron floor of the puny cage.

He had also never been so cold either. Bumblehoof was not a very bright giant and did not realize that pouring bucketfuls of water into the cage for drinking water nearly gave Trumpkin and Edmund hypothermia. What with the water and the freezing cold cave and the damp air it would have given a polar bear pneumonia.

Edmund hadn't seen any light for days. He could barely make out Trumpkin's small, soaking wet, decrepit figure any longer. Edmund did not think he would ever be able to get the water out of his ears and it literally felt like he was frozen in a block of ice. He was positive he had caught some sort of horrid disease that would surely kill him one way or another, even if and when they got out of the hellish cage.

A fit of coughing seized him again and threatened to tear a hole in his throat. He could hear Trumpkin groaning and moaning next to him but the forlorn little sounds did not even register with his brain. All he could think about was how he was failing.

He had made it about three miles. But Caspian, his sister's husband, his _brother _needed that cordial now. And he could not get it.

* * *

><p>Caspian was tired. He was so tired. All the time. And he was angry, so angry, all the time. And he hurt, so much, all the time.<p>

He would be turning twenty one in almost exactly one month and he felt like he was rounding seventy. Every morning he was greeted with the horrible creaking and groaning of his young joints, a head ache so severe and crippling Lucy had been scared that he would go blind from the pain he complained of behind his eyes. It was like a tiny swordsman was standing inside his head and stabbing through his brain and into his eyes every time he opened them. And no matter how much water he was brought, he could not get the awful taste out of his mouth. He truly could not think of anything more acrid and bitter than this horrible poisonous residue that coated his tongue and the inside of his cheeks. And the worst part was that it would not go away.

Susan tried so hard to make it go away, giving him every good tasting beverage and tonic and food she could think of, but they all made it worse. And not only did he feel like he was eighty years old, he felt like he was an eighty year old snake.

His tongue was excruciatingly dry and his skin was a bizarre combination of scaly, dry…and slimy. It revolted him every time he switched from lying on his side to lying on his back and could feel the sheets rubbing across his slimy scaly self. But somehow Susan still insisted that the feel of his skin did not revolt her and make her want to vomit.

She had stayed with him every second she possibly could. She would still kiss him despite his dry and crusty lips and would still even_ crawl into bed with him_; how was beyond him. Even little Lucy would sometimes sit at the foot of his bed and read her famous stories aloud to him or draw silly pictures to amuse him (he particularly enjoyed the ones of Peter as a baby).

But nevertheless, for the past five or six days, regardless; Susan was there. Trufflehunter and Cornelius had told her just the other day that they should not sleep together but she was still the first thing he saw in the morning when he woke up and the last person he wished sweet dreams to at night.

Being away from her, even when he was asleep; was agony. There was still this part of him that was terrified he would wake up and she would be gone. And not just gone as in down the hall, gone… as in forever. Gone as in away.

Gone as in never again.

Gone as in he would never see her again. Gone as in over. Gone as in what was supposed to happen. Oh that thought was so painful he could not even process it!

If he ever lost her, he would lose it. He would have no will to go on and lead his country or even to live. The thought of how much more it would hurt after knowing what could have been and having the chance to live it would have made never seeing her again a thousand times more painful.

And so even as he was just lying in bed, obsessing over the empty spot next to him, he swore he would never let that happen. He would never let the best thing that ever happened to him slip through his fingers again like he had as a very young man.

He would hold onto her until his entire body ached and burned and screamed. He would keep her next to him as long as forever would take. Because he had promised her.

That day on the beach, when he finally told her that he loved her…he had made her a promise. A promise to respect and cherish and adore and love and do all the things you should ever do for anyone you would die for…for her.

He had made a promise to her that he would be that man Susan had always wanted to sweep her off her feet and be her reason to live.

He would never let anything hurt her again. He would keep her safe and happy until the very moment he stopped breathing (and he prayed to Aslan that moment would come before hers so would never have to live without her), he would protect her. He would take care of her with everything he had.

That day he had stood before the legendary High King Of Narnia, begging for his blessing to become his brother in law, that eternal promise to take of Susan he made to Peter was so much more than a promise.

It was a life. He had promised Peter a life. He had promised Peter to give his life to his sister. He had promised that from that moment on Susan would be his life. He was no longer Caspian.

He was Caspian and Susan.

Because when he was not with her he was only a half of something bigger than a whole. Peter did not take anything having to do with Susan or Lucy lightly at all.

And neither did Caspian.

And right now, he was only a half.

But right now, 2 am and he's tossing and turning and flipping and flopping all over the place like a fish out of water. He hadn't seen Susan for three hours, forty nine minutes and thirty seven seconds and he was going crazy.

What if something had happened to her? Tonight would be the night if any; there was no moon, it was absolutely pouring rain, he didn't know how the horrendous earsplitting thunder had not woken up the entire castle by now, and the lightening, oh the lightening was beginning to set Caspian's teeth on edge.

Yes, tonight would the night something would happen. If any.

He flipped his pillow over onto the cold side and flopped onto his stomach one more time as a ridiculously bright bolt of lightning flashed right by his window.

_You're being paranoid Caspian. I am sure she's fine. It s just another night, she'll be here in the morning. Would you relax? Nothing is going to happen. _

He groaned and flopped onto his other side, pulling his pillow over his head and all but screaming into the mattress.

Another fifteen minutes of maddening frustration later and the Telmarine who saved Narnia tore his covers off his legs and jumped out of the bed with a snarl of irritation.

He muttered various curses at the pain that greeted him, already feeling at least six bruises coming to surface on his temporarily fragile arms and legs. His fingers shook as he grasped the bed weakly and staggered up to his feet, suddenly feeling lightheaded and exhausted.

The cherry pie pan on the nightstand was almost empty.

He absently pulled on a nightshirt-the very one he had been wearing when he met his wife and her family- and slowly, very slowly, started to shuffle towards the door.

The hallway was cold and dark. His head spun and circles spun before his eyes. His breathing grew shallower and shallow but he did not notice. He could not breathe. He could not see.

But he could hear.

Distant, faraway, soft sounds that caught him off guard and made his spine tingle. Using the wall for support he painfully made his way down the hallway, his shoulder braced against the stonewall the whole time. It must have taken him at least three times as long as it would have normally but he was drawn down the hall by the sounds. He was going the opposite direction from Susan's old bedroom but the sounds-words, he discovered- were pulling him down the hallway.

Four or five times he thought for sure he was going to pass out again and he had to stop and rest several times but he had to find the two people that were speaking. Whatever they were speaking of, it was not good.

As he got closer he could almost make out the voices. One definitely male and the other…well, he hadn't actually heard the other person speaking yet. However, the man sounded very guilty about something . But whatever it was, he was either very ashamed or very, very sorry. Or both.

They must have been fairly close, perhaps the courtyard corridor or the kitchen corridor. Whoever they were, they were discussing something very important.

Caspian was no eavesdropper but he is human and so to say…curiosity got the best of him.

He stopped for perhaps a minute to catch his breath and try to see straight again and then bravely braced himself against the wall, took a deep breath, and slowly, made his way down the hallway. It took perhaps four or five times as long as it normally did but he hardly seemed to notice anything else but the searing pain that was blasting through him with every step they took.

What seemed like hours later, he was making progress down the hallway. He could now almost hear the conversation. The way the man's voice was getting louder and louder and more desperate and high pitched sounding made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Something…was wrong. There was something very not right about this conversation and he felt in his gut that he should know exactly what it was but his head was getting in the way.

He instinctively tensed when the man's nervous pacing like a caged leopard could be heard echoing throughout the hall and his voice was going up an octave and getting louder and louder. This man was beginning to get angry.

Sweat started to dribble down Caspian's temples and neck as he feebly slithered along the wall, hidden in the shadows.

He heard just a faint whisper of the other softer, gentler voice; Most definitely a feminine speaker.

"I don't believe that. I know you, you are a very good person."

"_If you knew why I am speaking to you right now you would not think so."_

"But you're a good person!''

''I AM SUPPOSED TO KIDNAPP YOU!" the man shouted.

If it had not been for his superb battle reaction training and reflexes, he would have surely slid to the floor and had a stroke.

His brain froze for that moment in time. Everything went darkHe knew that second voice. It was a voice he would know half dead and deaf in one ear.

It was Susan's.

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><p>Peter had never given much thought as to how he would die.<p>

Death had stared him right in the face THOUSANDS of times. There was not an inch of his body not scared with a near death experience but yet he had never given that much thought to what would end it.

He was not afraid of death. He believed that life could be so much worse than death that just being finished with it would not be so bad. Perhaps it would be lovely; being dead. No more papers to sign or knights to train or wars to fight or suitors to ward off. Maybe…it would not be so horrible to die.

The horrible thing would be seeing it all slip away.

Before every single battle he had ever fought in, even as a sixteen year old boy, he prayed to Aslan that if he was destined not to come out of that battle alive, no one he loved would be there. He prayed that the last thing he would ever see would not be Edmund screaming his name or Lucy sprinting to his side with her cordial only to see him slip away and leave her.

His only request for Aslan would be to spare him his family. He did not wish for a quick death and would welcome agony with open arms as long as he did not have to see his family slip away and fade as his heart stopped thumping. As long as he would not feel that brief moment of panic knowing that this would be the last time he ever saw them alive.

He never really thought about how he would die.

But dying as lived seemed a pretty good way to go.

So as he was standing there in his nightclothes, arm bandaged and all, surrounded by a dozen Telmarine troops and facing ten or fifteen crossbows, he welcomed what would come. He would die for the same reason Caspian would throw himself in front of Susan if even one trigger was pulled. For his family.

For Edmund who was god knows where right now trying to save Caspian. For Lucy whose throat was being held under the blade of a knife. For Caspian who held his sister in his arms and tried even in his illness to be her hero. And for Susan who did not deserve to be the cause of any of this.

Yes, dying here, in the hallway of Cair Paravel, surrounding by loved ones would be a good way to go.

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><p>Caspian couldn't breathe. This, this was without a doubt one of those moments where he was inches away from a heart attack. He hobbled the last few feet to the corner as quickly as he possibly could and with every ounce of strength he had left, pulled himself around the corner.<p>

"What is going on here?" he croaked in a feeble voice as loudly as he could manage, which was barely above a whisper but was nevertheless heard by the two now identified characters.

Susan closed her eyes as if cursing herself for a moment and Inego took one look at the decrepit young king-his king- and let out a sort of whimper and began trembling most vioilently. Susan opened her eyes and took a deep breath, forcing a calm look across her face.

"Sweetheart. What are you doing here? You should be resting, love." she said in a strained-everything is okay and I am not being threatened- voice.

Caspian vaguely remembered hearing the same voice coming out of his mothers voice years and years ago when a four year old Caspian had wondered into the hallway frightened because he had heard his mommy and daddy screaming at eachother in the hallway. Its was the classic -mommy and daddy were just having a discussion go back to bed honey- voice.

Inego yanked his crossbow off of her torso and flung it on the ground, holding his head in his hands and whispering nonsense to himself. Susan, however, stayed put against the wall. Caspian tried his best to straighten himself up and let go of the wall, doing his best to hold his head up high and strut over to his wife. He made it half way there before his knees buckled and spots appeared before his eyes. He dug his nails into his palms as he struggled to catch himself as he began to pitch forward.

Susan immediately rushed forward and grabbed his upper arm gently and pulled him upright. She moved to put his arms around her shoulder but he shrugged her off and fixed his intense eyes on Inego. The one man he thought he could trust with his life and more importantly, his family.

The instantaneous rage he felt welling up inside of him gave him strength and he advanced on the poor man with surprising speed. Inego's eyes went cloudy when Caspian grabbed the front of the man's shirt, as if Inego had totally forgotten he was not alone.

"I better have an explanation by the time I count to three do you hear me!One. Two-."

"THREE!

Caspian did not even have time to look around to see where the horrible voices were coming from before he was crumpled on the hallway floor, the wind knocked out of his lungs and a lump blossoming on the back of his head.

Dozens of ear drum shattering battle cries and yells rocked the hallway as a seemingly endless sea of Telmarine soldiers disguised as Narnian guards poured into the tight space, swords and bows drawn and poised. His world was spinning and he was seeing stars put there when he looked up there were several things, several undeniably real things happening-that torn his soul apart.

One of them were points. Lots and lots of points. Points of the blades, points of the armor, points of the arrows, points poised for delivering death.

The second was cold blooded murder. Everywhere, in their eyes, in their faces, in the way the held themselves.

And the third thing, oh the third thing was so horrifying he could not even process it. The third thing was Susan. Susan in the middle of all of these things.

Susan, in the midst of twenty swarming men with murderous intentions, trapped against the wall. She did not stand a chance. Even without her bow the Gentle Queen was by no means defenseless and she fought quite well in hand to hand combat... but there were so many of them.

He had never wanted anything as badly as he wanted to move. But he couldn't. His body was...giving up on him. The amphatike was not working its way out, no not at all. he couldn't make his body do what he wanted it to. He couldn't run, couldn't fight, couldn't protect. He couldn't save her. His love and his life, he could not protect her when she needed him.

He thrashed and writhed and tried desperately to haul himself up off the ground to get to her. He had to get to her. She was screaming and hitting and yelling and calling for him. She was calling for him and he couldn't get there. He couldn't get to her when she needed him.

He screamed and yelled and called for her until bile flooded into his mouth but every time he got close to getting back up, at least four Telmarine aimed a kick to his rib or gave him a shove. But Caspian was angry.

And in his anger, there was nothing Caspian couldn't do.

One of the men shoved Susan too hard and he heard a thump against the wall.

And he lost it.

With a yowl of absolute rage, Caspian threw the Telmarine off of him and sprang off of the ground like a cat. An enormous, angry, vicious cat. Several of the Telmarines whipped around at the surprising sound and their eyes widened when they saw the look in the King's eyes.

As if possessed Caspian lunged at the closest man's throat and threw him into several of the others with as much force as he could muster. Six Telmarine spies tumbled to the stone floor, their armor clanking and clattering eeriely. Caspian whipped around to face all the others, his eyes positively flaming. Even in the heat of battle, Susan had never seen him like this.

It reminded her of the night he was poisoned.

If the Telmarines were to make it out of the palace alive with the queen before being caught it had to be done now. But the king should not have been there. The King should be dying in his bed right now. Everything had been planned out. King Caspian would eat the pie and would slowly begin to die in his bed. King Edmund was away. King Peter was weak from the nearly fatal cut in his arm. And dear little Queen Lucy would be asleep in her bed.

Queen Susan was just a woman, they had thought; she would not put up much of a fight. They would be through Calormene before anyone even discovered she was gone. The Prince would be most pleased to have his lovely little minx in his palace and King Kasim would be delighted that the plan was working.

But the plan was not working. Queen Susan could most definetly put up a fight and all though he had looked frightfully ill, Caspian was obviously not on his death bed.

The startled Telmarines scrambled back up, bewildered and well, angry. But nothing compared to the anger Caspian felt.

The only time he had ever felt this strong was the moment of greatest shame in his life; the night he was poisioned. He leapt and lunged and swung and yelled and screeched and kicked and screamed and fought like all of Aslans country was falling down around him.

He spun wildly to the left after cutting down another Telmarine and laughed when his fist connected with the jaw of an enemy. But as he leapt into mid air, he caught sight of his wife fighting like the wolves of Jadis were snapping at her heels. The Susan in the hallway vanished and left behind the Susan on the battlefield. The Susan who looked more beautiful than anything he had ever seen but scared him a heck of the lot more than she should have. The fierce and intense look in her eyes as she pulled her arm back and let the arrows fly unbidden before hurling another arrow into the enemy.

His gentle beautiful sweet queen was right now, well...terrifying. He was snapped out of his flashback when the blade of a sword swished inches from his side. And then he his body went back on auto pilot.

He was a totally different animal. His muscles moving beneath his skin and rippling together like a well oiled machine.

Just as his shoved his fist deep into the gut of yet another man, he caught something out of the corner of his eye that horrified him beyond anything he had ever dreamed of.

"What's going on out here?" the small, shocked little voice squeaked through a massive yawn.

Little Lucy, barefoot and yawning in her nightgown, had stumbled right in the midst of all the chaos of the attack on her way to check on Susan.

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><p><strong>review review review! i love you all!<strong>


	16. Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

**Oh my god i am so SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOS SORRY! That was the absolute longer update ever and i feel so terrible i left you all hanging! plz plz don't hate me I am so sorry! I worked very hard on this chapter to try and make up for it and I really hope you all like it. And you Edmund fans will be very happy to see our favorite new king again! Enjoy!**

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><p>Apparently Susan saw Lucy the same moment Caspian did because suddenly the swarm of Telmarines that had been trying to kidnap Susan flew to the ground in a clamor and she moved faster through those men than he had ever seen anything move in his entire life. She was <em>flying <em>across the hallway, screaming Lucy's name so loudly Caspian was certain he would go deaf in on ear.

Lucy turned towards Susan immediately with a puzzled look on her face.

"Susan? What's going on? Who are all of these men? Why are they here?" Lucy yelled, running between all the fighting men and reaching Susan who grabbed both of her arms and whisked her out of the way of a soldier preparing to lunge at the two with his sword drawn. Susan jumped and Lucy squealed.

Susan looked wildly around the hallway before shoving a wide eyed Lucy into the dark broom closet slightly down the hallway farthest from the chaos and fighting. The Telmarines would never know she was there. She put her hands on either side of Lucy's far and kissed the top of her head hurriedly, her eyes darting around the hallway.

"Stay here okay? Don't move until someone comes and gets you alright? Everything is fine. Just –just be quiet and-and stay here and don't move or make a sound. Stay here. I love you! If I or Caspian don't come in here to get you soon, get Peter." Susan said quickly as Lucy's eyes got wider and wider. Susan moved to leave down the hallway but Lucy grabbed her sleeve and pulled her back down as though her brain had began functioning again.

"What, no! I'm staying with you. How did you they even get in here-?"

"Just stay in here until you are told to come out!'

"Wait what's going on?"

"Lucy! Stay." Susan commanded sharply.

"I'm not a little kid anymore I can fight, I can help!"

"Fine you wanna help? Go, go get out of here! Get Peter, get Peter! Through the servants passage go!"

Lucy stood before Susan with a puzzled and bewildered expression, her little chest heaving and her eyes wide and panicked. Susan gave her sister a light slap on the arm.

"Don't just stand there go! Go, now get Peter! RIGHT NOW GET HIM! LUCY PEVENSIE GO RIGHT THIS SECOND!"

"Okay okay I'm going! Be careful-''

"Lucy _go_!"

Susan gave her a light little shove and took her opportunity to slam the door closed.

The last thing she remembered seeing was her sisters auburn hair disappearing into the servants hidden corridor in the broom closet.

As soon as she heard that door slam, the air rushed out of her lungs and it was like the mute button had been turned off. The sounds of the world reverberating in her chest. The clanking of metal, the clatter of armor against the stone floor, a thick Spanish accent...her husbands accent. Her favorite sound in the entire world, now gasping and choking and spluttering her name as the invaders crashed down upon his weakened body, threatening to crush him.

Everything was moving in slow motion.

Her screaming his name, the Telmarine battle cries that cut through the air like a knife, Caspian's beautiful voice calling for her and Lucy, her running and shoving and pushing men out of the way to get to him. She had to save him. They wanted her, they only wanted her and he was suffering.

She had to do something. Now. If she didn't, they would kill him, and that was something she refused to ever let happen. She could hardly make her legs move fast enough as she sprinted towards him, dodging swords and shoving Telmarines out of her way as she went.

"Wait, wait stop!" she called breathlessly. The invaders paid no heed to the hysterical queen they were supposed to be kidnapped and instead focused on the man they were supposed to remain unharmed at all costs.

"I'm here look! You want me, put him down you want me!" she yelled through the lump in her throat. But those men did not care. Those men had evil in their hearts and blood lust burned into their brains.

Caspian was on the ground, trapped. He kicked and swung and yelled and cursed and punched but there were too many. The poison was spreading through him like the plague. But he went down like all of Aslan's country, fighting for the one thing he would never stop fighting for; his wife. He loved his wife and there was nothing he wouldn't do for her or her family. And if that meant death, so be it. He welcomed death if it meant life for those he loved.

"GETAW AWAY FROM MY BROTHER!"

Susan whippped around fast as a twister and had never been so relieved in her entire life. Peter, her big brother and her savior, was there at the end of the hallway, his left arm wrapped, and his weight supported by a wide eyed Lucy who was trying hard not to cry. Her big brother was there to save the day again, like he always would be.

Several of the men whirled around and exchanged uncertain glances as the enfuriated king slowly hobbled towards them, brandishing a shaky sword in hand. Susan could see the fire growing, flaming, in his eyes as he got closer and closer to the invaders who continued to back up, scramble, actually, towards the wall.

Boy were they in for it.

"How the hell did you get in here?Was it That Boy, was it Tristan?Huh, did he _send_ you here? Who let you in?How did you know where to get in? WHO _TOLD_ YOU THESE SECRETS?" he bellowed into the darkness.

The boy Peter had disappeared, and the King Peter in all his glory stood before the murderous monsters.

The only sort of king these men had servesd under were the Telmarine sort. The Kings of Telmarine decent were frightening at best, but they had never been confronted by a king quite as frightening as this...and he was only nineteen years old!

They would later come to realize they had feared him so much because he was not evil at heart. It was true they were robots controlled by fear and had no sense of good will or humanity.

Peter growled low in his throat and all of the sudden was standing before the smallest and clearly youngest of the Telmarines, pressing the flat of his sword to the boy's chest.

"Who told you to come here?" he asked in a low, dangerous voice.

The boy was too frightened to speak. He was a very young boy afterall, only fourteen or fifteen perhaps. Peter glared and with a flick of the wrist pointed the tip of the sword at the boy's throat. "Don't make me ask again, Telmarine."

"Sir-Uh, um it-it was Sir Sohphestian, K-king Peter, The s-second of that name."

"What _is _it with you Telmarines naming your sons after yourselves. Conceited much!"

The boy blinked in surprise and only laughed nervously when the mighty king threw him to the ground.

The first soldier Susan recalled seeing stepped into the dim-light and roughly hauled Caspian up by the colar of his shirt. "Put me...down," Caspian coughed weakly as his face turned ashen and pale. His eyes were growing out of focus and filmy. He saw the fuzzy figure of his wife and tried to smile. "Susan..."

The Gentle Queen pushed past Peter and knelt to the ground beside her husband and grabbed his slimy cold hand in hers. "I'm here love..." she whispered softly to him. The other Telmarines all rolled their eyes. Except one. The one who had snuck into the corridor quiet as death, not even the other Telmarines had noticed him.

The man grabbed Susan's upper arm, hauled her off the ground and cast her away like a wet leaf stuck to the bottom of his shoe. She stumbled back slightly but Peter caught her and steadier her on her feet, looking at her with concern.

"Leave him!" Susan pleaded as she tried to step towards the man. Peter gave her a warning look and put his arm out to prevent her from getting any closer. Lucy griped Peter's arm so tight her knuckles turned white then purple.

"Yes. Leave him. He is mine to finish."

The voice was deep and menacing as it rang out from the shadows. A collective gasp was heard from the Telmarines before the all threw themselves face down on the ground, all of them trembling. The man looked more like a ghost than anything Peter had ever seen. His cloak was dark as night and billowing around his whispy figure. He was wearing the same helmets Peter remembered the Telmarines to have worn in the Narnian Revolution, althouh this one was even more crude and ominous.

Peter unconsiously stepped back a bit and nugded both of his sister's behind him, shifting his arm so that Rhindon pointed at this mysterious man whom even the invaders seemed to have known nothing of him presence in the corridor.

Though in the face of possible death, the High King within the boy Peter never faded even for one momment. Although tis true he was not exactly thinking clearly, Caspian to this day swears he saw a man of at least thirty standing his ground.

A collective gasp was heard from the Telmarines all flung themselves on the ground face down, all trembling fiercely. Unease began to spread throughout Peter's stomach. But nevertheless, he stood his ground like King Peter Wolfsbane, King Peter the Magnificent; King Peter the High King.

"Who are you" he asked calmly.

The...thing-did not move.

Peter cleared his throat.

"I said who are you." he repeated firmly, readjusting his grip on Rhindon.

The figure stepped out of the shadows and into the light. Lucy could have sworn she saw a flash of a petticoat under his dark as death cloak.

"Lord Sophestian...second of that name." it said in a deep, ominous voice. It was the strangest voice any of them had ever heard.

It did not escape even Caspian's notice how each of the men cringed at the sound of his voice.

The man looked around at the others with what Susan assumed was disgust but she coud not be certain. He pulled out a short Telmarine style dagger and the Narnians all gasped and took a hasty step backwards.

He took several a slow step forward and the his voice started out soft as death and then grew louder and louder, shriller and shriller.

"I told you to stay put under the King gave the order!" he yelled. The Narnian royals watched in fascinated horror as he took three large steps forward. through the air and landed not an inch from the nose of the man who had previously been holding Caspian hostage.

The man whimpered softly and kept his eyes firmly fixed on the ground.

"You blithering idiots the King will have my head for his wall! Is it so hard for any of you to follow orders or do you all lack the brain to do so!" he boomed venemously.

The Narnians were mesmerized but Lucy could not shake the feeling that something was off about this man.

Lord Adrinian trembled fiercely. "My-my Lord-"

"I don't want to hear any of your exuses you utter moron! Leave. Get out of my sight now, I cannot look at you, you pathetic excuse for a soldier, you probably just lost this war. I cannot look at you any longer you horrible worm. Leave this excuse for a castle right this instant, all of you, unless you would rather be killed by my hand instead of the Kings. I can gurantee the former will be much worse." he said dangerously.

They all scrambled off the ground as fast as they dared and rushed to the nearest doorway they could find. But of course, the youngest soldier lingered and turned around with a puzzled expression on his face.

"But what about the Narnians...?'

''OUT!"

After a series of whimpers and mad scramble for escape, the Narnian royals were alone with the most dangerous man they had ever met.

"So I suppose you are going to get rid of us all now and save King Kasim the trouble, huh?" Caspian croaked with difficulty.

"Actually, no. Quite the opposite,'' he said in a quite perky voice, with a very, very unexpected giggle. Peter thought he was going to fall over when he reached up to remove his horrible mask and several long, dark, gorgeous curls spilled over soft skin. Lucy let out a strange cross between a squeal, a yelp, and a cry of relief. Caspian nearly choked to death, Peter stopped breathing, and Susan was so overwhelmed she could not even think straight and was positive she was going to have a heart attack.

It was not the horrifying,dark, bloodthirsty Telmarine any of them expected at all.

It was Mariella.

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><p>He had to get out there.<p>

If he stayed in that damned cage for one hour longer, he was going to die. He just knew it. He was not even sure if poor Trumpkin was still breathing or not; he hadn't moved in days except an occasional groan or whimper.

Even if Edmund did not keel over from pneumonia or starvation, he would go mad. Lose his marbles. Bonkers.

He could not possibly stay in that cage for any longer. He had to get out of that prison cell and someday be free again. He was so dillusional he was not even sure if he remembered what grass looked like or even how to spell his own name. He had lost track of how long he had been in that blasted cage; to him it seemed like at least an entire lifetime. He vaguely wondered if Lucy would be maried by the time he got back.

Edmund had racked his brain for countless hours but no matter how he looked at it, he could not see any possible way of escape.

That is, until Bonecrusher had left yesterday to find some food.

Edmund still dreamily remembered that slender little beam of light that had shown through the giant boulder in the doorway. Oh how glorious that little ray of light seemed! Oh the sun, the sun how he missed the sun!

He was too exhausted to even cry, but he could still feel the entire cave vibrating and shaking with Bonecrushers enormous steps stamping through the vallley outside the cave door. Edmund collapsed on the floor of his cage and squeezed his eyes shut as the great boulder slid to the side and the great oaf clambered into the little cave.

"Petties, Daddy's home my little lovelies! You must be awfully thirsty huh wittle Sassifrass huh! Lets get you two some water my little beasties!" Bonecrusher said excitedly. Edmund rolled his eyes.

The dimwitted giant was on his way to the enormous water jugs he kept on a crudely fashioned shelf when a shiny spoon caught his eye and he clapped his huge hands together.

"Ohhhhh silly Bonecrusher! I forgot to show my little beasties all of my treasures! He rather gracelessly emptied all of the contents of the knapsack Edmund had not even noticed onto the damp floor.

That weird little knapsack would change the course of Edmund Pevensie's life forever. Perhaps he would be home sooner than he thought.

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><p>*<strong>here comes the sun doo dooo doo do here comes the sun and I say is alright*<strong>

**:) review review review!**


	17. Good Things Come in Small Packages

**OH. JIMMINEY CRAP i am sooooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry! An entire MONTH without an update, i feel so terrible. You all have been so lovely, leaving reviews and favoriting my story and i repay you with leaving you for a couple of cliff hangers! So sorry:(:(:(::((:(:(:( I hope this makes up for it a bit and I promise i will work really extra super hard to update more regularly. Thanks so much for all ye faithful viewers who have stood by me and been oh so patient lately. I truly would never have pressed on without you.**

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><p>The cordial was just as beautiful as he remembered. So…pure and innocent, sweet, even. The red liquid sloshed against the crystal vial, and Edmund could feel his heart lurching as Bumblehoof clumsily lifted the vial to his eye. In that vial, that one little vial that had meant the difference between living and dying for so many souls.<p>

Lucy was so innocent. So meek. She did not carry a sword on her hip like him and his brother, or even a bow like his sister. Her greatest weapon was her ability to save lives. Her greatest weapon brought air back into the lungs of the wounded and started the blood pumping through veins once again. His sister, his _baby _sister had saved lives with nothing but those precious drops of life.

Those few precious drops of the fire-flower that grows in the mountains of the sun…were going to save his brother's life. Because of the precious drops within the beautiful little cordial- so delicate and small- his brother was going to heal and be good and strong and healthy again. Edmund was going to get that cordial and it was going to heal his brother- his own sister's love-and save him.

Edmund knew that he would not be riding home on his white horse, cordial in hand, and he would not come galavanting through the gates to a crowd erupting in cheers. Caspian would not be laying in bed sick as dog and then jump out singing after the drop of cordial touched his lips. He would be coming home to war. A bloody, hateful, horrible, HORRIBLE war. Against horrible horrible people.

And it wasn't going to be easy. It was going to be really hard, but he and his family would get through it together. It was something they would have to fight for every day with everything. But that was ok. As long as he and his family were together, as long as they were safe, it would all be alright.

There was no shadow of doubt in Edmund's mind that Narnia would come throught the clutches of evil once more. Narnia was not a quarter of the size of Telmar and their army outnumbered that of the Narnians eight to one. And the Telmarines were ruthless, ruthless people. These Telmarines made Miraz and the nine other Caspian's look like kittens. And even though every odd was against them, they had something that the Telmarines did not. They had something worth fighting for. And no matter how long it took, or how hard it was, Edmund was going to get that cordial.

Good things come in small packages, and you can't get much smaller than Lucy's cordial.

* * *

><p>Lucy had always felt so safe in Cair Paravel. When she was in that castle, it was like nothing could hurt her. Even in the midst of war, she was never concerned for one moment that the enemy would get any closer than outside the city. As long as she was within those stone walls; she was safe.<p>

For fifteen long years, she and her family had lived there within those very walls and never, ever once been threatened by an attack. Never before had the enemy been so close. Men intent on kidnapping Susan and _killing them all in their sleep _if necessary had walked these very halls. Twenty plus Telmarine soldiers had been in her home just moments ago. And the part that scared Lucy the most? Someone would have had to let them in.

* * *

><p>It was without a doubt the most uncomfortable silence any of them had endured.<p>

All the Narnian royals-including Caspian who had refused to be tended to before he spoke to Mariella- weresitting, trembling, around the dining room table across from the daughter of their enemy who was dressed as a Telmarine general.

The daughter who had risked everything to warn the royal family of her wicked father's evil plot. The daughter who was commiting perhaps the largest case of treason in history and could very well be murdered in her country, even though her father was the king. She who had risked life and limb on her perilous journey two long days racing across the hottest of desert on her horse, not daring to stop for more than seconds at a time. She who had spent her entire eighteen years trying to play mother to her three younger sister. She who was the model of strength, forever turning the other cheek at her father's verbal abuse and bearing all his vile treatment so to spare her sisters.

She who was staring blankly at the dining room table before her, taking long shaking breaths and trying not to fall apart. Her long black curls were tossled this way and that, her slender hands absently running through them and catching in its tangled masses. The long, heavy Telmarine sword that had been glued to her hip for two whole days now was cast away to her left, laying on the table as a constant reminder to the other royals of what could have been driven through their bodies in the middle of the night. It had only been moments since twenty or so of the fiercest of Telmarines had stood trembling before this beautiful creature and fled without question.

Now, she looked anything but fearsome. She still wore the attire of a high ranking general of Telmar, but looked just as sweet and beautiful as she had at the grand wedding of King Caspian X and Queen Susan the Gentle.

She was the most beautiful thing Peter had ever seen in his life, especially now.

Ever since she had peeled off that helmet and shook out her long dark curls, smiling bravely at the royals, Peter had not been able to look away.

This girl, this woman, this _princesss_ had endured blistering sun and scortching winds for miles and miles and miles on end to save his family. She had thrown caution to the wind and finally stood up for herself. What her father was doing to this poor family was wrong and she refused to sit idly by and watch as their lives were torn apart by her the hatred of her father and the lust of her brother.

She was amazing.

And she was sitting right across from him.

And slowly, painfully, as if each word was being torn from her lips, she began to speak. Her voice was soft and gentle as Peter remembered it, but it did not hold the same tone of endless kindness as it had on their first meeting. It was now scared, cold, and unhappy. As if she had watched everything she loved die right before her eyes. In several ways, she had.

'' Sixteen years ago," she began in a whisper, "a heartless man named Kasim entered the palace of Miraz of Narnia. The wife of King Kasim often complained of the lack of time the small family spend together, and so Queen Daria, prince Tristan, and Princess Mariella who was no more than two, travelled to Narnia for the first time." she said in a soft, pained voice.

The Pevensies and Caspian remained silent, although Susan could not stop herself from fussing over Caspian though he declared he was feeling nearly normal again.

"The children were awed at the magical land and most impressed the castle and the kings," she shot a glance at Caspian, looking horribly guilty, "but the Queen of this magnificent country was very sick, and her son was very young."

All looked at Caspian who looked long and hard at the princess before pointing a shaky finger at her.

"I remember you. You-you and I played in the garden...I was four and my mother, she-she died a week later," he said slowly.

Mariella closed her eyes and nodded, a single tear slipping out of her eyes. Peter wanted more than anything to wipe it away.

"Yes, yes. You, you and me and Tristan...we were friends. Tristan used to be so good..." she said shakily. Caspian had the same faraway look in his eyes.

Bravely, she continued her story. "The last night we spent in that castle,I-I was scared and I was looking for my father-just once I hoped he would just hold me and tell me everything would be okay-and I-I did find him," she paused and looked at Caspian with eyes like they were pleading him to forgive her for something,"he and Miraz were sitting in the queerest study and...Miraz was consulting with my father about..."she sighed again," about the best way to get rid of your father..."

Caspian slowly looked up at her. "What?"

"Caspian-Caspian I am so sorry. I was-I was only two and I did not understand , I thought it was just a game they were playing...I didn't know Miraz meant... killing him," she whispered the last part to herself, feeling an overwhelming guilt wash over her.

Caspian said nothing and Mariella got up and walked around to the other side of the table, grabbing Caspian's hand.

"I am so sorry. Please, please forgive me. I should have told you, I should have told at the wedding...I only just remembered it the other night when Arianna overheard them talking-just like that night-and oh, I am so sorry for everything."

Caspian still said nothing for a long while, thinking back to the day he found out his father had died, and how sympathetic Miraz pretended to be.

"Tell me about what Arianna heard," he said not angrily, but coldly, as if he was the same man he had been three years ago.

Mariella sighed shamefully and looked down, nervously twirling her hair.

"He was apart of the plan to kill your father...hasn't he done enought to you already?" she wondered to herself before looking into the eyes of the royals and somehow finding courage to continue.

"A few nights ago, Arianna heard my father talking to my brother...about you two." she said, gesturing to Caspian and Susan.

No one was surprised, but Lucy still looked apalled.

Mariella sighed. "He wants to hurt you, Caspian. He wants to make you suffer more than is fair for any other human being." She turned to Susan and reached across Caspian's lap to take Susan's hand.

"My father wants to kill you to spite him. Either that or he is just planning to kill Caspian and let Tristan have his way with you," she explained gently.

Caspian jumped up from his seat. "Over my dead body! He doesn't touch her...EVER!" His eyes were ablaze and it almost scared Lucy to see him so angry.

Susan put a gentle hand on his arm and pulled him back into his seat. "Love, you are not well. Please do not fuss so."

Lucy turned back to Mariella with a brave smile. "Please go on."

Now came the hard part, "And the only reason we came to your wedding was to...observe you. My father wanted to see you two together to see if you two were really in love...and a blind man could see that you are.''

She expected the family to be furious. They had taken her into thier home and treated her like family, she who had known all about why they were there in the first place, and she had just stood idly by and gave them no warning at all. But they were not angry. The family did look slightly hurt but none of them said anything.

"Anyways, after the um, 'incident' with my brother, I am sure you were surprised he did not attack sooner. I know why."

Peter grimaced. "Pray tell."

She turned to the newly weds and took a deep breath, her cheeks flushing in embarrassement.

"He's waiting for you two to...uh, to-um-, well, he's been waiting for the two of you to ah, you know...get pregnant."

There was a rather comical gagging, almost choking sound coming from Peter and Lucy had to pat him very hard on the back to instll the breath back in her brother's body.

Caspian too had gained a bit of red color on his cheeks and was putting forth quite a lot of effort to keep himself breathing.

"Its a bit early to be thinking about that isn't it?" Peter nearly yelled almost frantically. Despite herself, Susan smiled.

"I mean-she-she's only eighteen! Barely! And, and there could be complications, and-and feet swelling, and weight gain, and mood swings, and labor pains, and-and food cravings! And all those dirty diapers! And all the crying in the middle of the night, and then it'll turn into a teenager and we all know how _that_ is going to turn out..." Peter paused as if making a decision.

'"No no no no no no NO, absolutely no, there will be no baby anytime soon. I mean, she's just a child herself'

"I am barely a year younger than you!"

"-and her little teenager body couldn't _possibly_ deal with the stress pushing a baby out of her-

"PETER DON'T YOU DARE!"

"-down there."

Mariella, Caspian, and Susan all turned fabulous shades of red, Susan hiding her face in her hands and wishing a large piano would fall out of the sky and drop on her brothers head.

Peter rambled on and on, nearly hyperventilating and all in a fuss, Mariella's cheeks growing redder and redder by the moment. Susan was looking at her brother with an expression that can only be described as utter mortification and absolute humiliation. And Lucy, Lucy was giggling madly. Oh, if Edmund had been there...

Finally, when Peter finished listing in detail all the reasons for his sister and Caspian NOT to have a baby, (most including embarrassing side effects for Susan and all the things that could go wrong with the child birth...in most embarrassing detail) the rest of the royal family was completely silent, alll staring at Peter with a mixture of wonder and humiliatioin.

It was finally Caspian who spoke up. "Ew, please let that be end of your speech. I do not even want to know how you know all of that."

Lucy giggled and Mariella tried very hard not to smile but it crept across her face anyway.

Caspian still seemed to be a bit frozen. Lately, he had been thinking quite a lot about babies but was certainly not planning on discussing that particular topic with this brother-in-law, especially since he was a little bit shy about even discussing the topic with his wife, even though he knew she wanted a baby just as much as he did. More, probably.

By now Peter was blushing furiously, wishing he would sink through the floor. Why oh why had he just shared all of that information with the world? He did not even know where all of that came from...perhaps the semester of medical training he had recieved in school. But why oh why did he blurt all of that out in front of her.!

If he had just been lounging around with the family on a Saturday morning, it would not have been so bad. But he had blurted out all of this in front of the most beautiful creature he had ever seen who was now looking at him like a snake was crawling out of his nose.

Brilliant.

After several silent, very, VERY akward minutes spent staring at random objects in the room, Mariella could not take it any longer and shook her head as if trying to clear all of the scarring images Peter had planted in her mind.

"Lovely weather you all are having..."

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><p><strong>Please let me know what you think! I am hoping to get up to 95+ reviews. *hint hint* well, not for this chapter alone but you know what I mean...lol. Not that i would complain though heheheheheh. <strong>

**Happy Thanksgiving my lovely reviewers!**


	18. There's No Place Like Home

**Wow that was a pretty darn quick update, if i do say so myself. Hope i do not let any of you down and a HUGE shout out to obsessedchick15 who helped me over my writers block and gave me several ideas for this chapter and unknowingly planted a few plot bunnies in my head...**

**Happy reading!**

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><p>Something was clearly bothering the Sassafras.<p>

The poor thing had not moved for days now, and his fur was beginning to fall out. Bumblehoof did not remember ever hearing the queer little….well, whatever it was, - speak or make any noises for days. The other …thing-seemed to be doing alright, although he had not touched his food for days-not even the freshly caught squirrel (or rather Squirrel-the reason the Just King refused).

Bumblehoof _humph_ed irritably to himself, resuming the counting of all of his goodies he had found the day before. That funny little castle between the two hills was Bumblehoof FAVORITE place to look for goodies in fact…but that is a tale for another day.

_One. _He pulled out a broken bit of chain (unbeknownst to him, the very bit that had once held the Just King prisoner beside Master Tumnus in the great and terrible hall of the White Witch). The cyclops smiled when it made that oh so funny clanging against the stone floor.

_Two. _The strangest little stone figure of a single chipmunk frozen as if in the middle of a sentence that Bumblehoof had found in the very darkest corner of what used to be a throne room.

_Three. _The softest, most comfy and cozy white coat ever laid eyes on by the cyclops; and it certainly looked like polar bear fur, (a personal favorite of a certain White Witch).

_Four._ Now this, this was the strangest thing of all. e He _humph_ed again and sat down with a large thud. His little pets stirred slightly, the big one sleepily and slowly rolling on his side and watching the great buffoon marvel at the cordial, Edmund practically drooling.

Dumbly, Bumblehoof scratched his head and stared at the tiny vial with his great eye. The Just King nearly went mad, squirming and grabbing his hair and closing his eyes and mumbling incoherently. All which went unnoticed by Bumblehoof.

After ten minutes of ogling the vial, putting it up to his ears and _licking it numerous times…._Bumblehoof shrugged his massive shoulders and carelessly tossed the cordial on the earthen floor and continued digging through his bag.

Edmund could not contain his feelings anymore and smacked the iron bars.

"Woulddja be careful with that for Aslan's sake!" he hollered at the giant, his eyes twitching and his hands grasping frantically at the bars of the suspended cage.

The giant gave a startled grunt of surprise and (with much effort) stood up and hobbled his way to Edmund's cage. The giant's footsteps made the ground shake as well as cages, Edmund feeling as though he would vomit and Trumpkin stirring from his unconsciousness.

"Pet make words? Pet has not spoken in days!"

Bumblehoof was excited and clapped his hands with glee, making the two Narnians most woozy.

"Yes, well with all this sunlight the pair of us has been getting its amazing we have been able to maintain our ability to speak!" Edmund said with bitter sarcasm.

An abundance of moans and whimpers filled the air and moments later, a very, very ill and very emaciated Trumpkin slowly sat up and looked at Edmund with glazed over eyes and distant expression tinted with relief that his king was beside him and shared all his woes.

The dwarf's eyes caught the sparkle of the cordial and he suddenly dug into the very corners of his body, summoning his last ounces of strength and hastily jumped to his feet, gripping the iron bars and pressing himself against them as close as he could.

"Aslan's mane it can't be! How in the blazes did this great buffoon get that!"  
>Edmund shook his head curtly to the left, gesturing the dwarf to say no more but Bumblehoof dumbly followed Trumpkin's gaze to the cordial. The cyclops smiled.<p>

"Oh, Sassafras like my uh, my uh. Well, I don't know WHAT it is but it's awful pretty, huh my pets?"

Neither said anything and both bit his cheeks to keep their angry words at bay.

Bumblehoof did not understand and took their silence to offense.

"What is the matter, my lovelies? You do not like my goodies? Why you no speak?"

"Perhaps," Edmund almost growled, "if we could get out of these blasted cages and see some sunlight and get some fresh air!" he snarled, collapsing into a heap on the cold floor of his cage and giving himself over to the agonizing cough in his throat.

Understanding washed across Bumblehoof's large face. "Oh. My pretties want to go outside. My little lovelies do not like the dark? Are my little ones a-scared of the dark?"

Edmund played along, describing all of their woes and pains to the great beast who's large eye welled up with tears. "Oh, oh my darlings, my babies my lovelies, I am sorry. Me am a horrible daddy, my poor babies you suffer so much and never you say anything! Outside, outside we go!"

Edmund dared not believe his ears as the large brass key turned in the still larger iron lock and alas-oh alas!-the door to the cage swung open and the large boulder in front of the door scraped against the wall as Bumblehoof moved it from the doorway-light FINALLY streaming in, shining as golden as the mane of the great lion who began the lives-the real lives-of King Edmund the Just and the greatest Kings and Queens our world will never know.

* * *

><p>"Susan...?" Caspian said nervously, twiddling his thumbs and shifting uncomfortably between the sheets as he watched her beautiful form moving gracefully around their bedroom, soaking warm towels, spooning soup and medicine into a bowl and piling blankets near the bed.<p>

"Hmmm..?"

Caspian shifted again, feeling the beads of sweat dripping down his face. He was a king for Aslan's sake, there is not way he should be this horribly nervous, like a schoolboy preparing to confess a naughty crime to his father.

'"Yes, love?" she repeated again loftily, only half listening.

It seemed like hours before he took a deep breath, seriously feeling as though he was going to vomit.

"Well, I was thinking...no, I _have _been thinking-since Christmas when we spent time with all of those children from the town-"

"Mmm, beautiful little darlings," she interrupted tenderly and then signaled for Caspian to continue.

"Yes, well,... I was thinking maybe about, well...I think that I am ready to um...what I mean to say is that I think that its time to...uh"

Susan sighed.

"Really dear-"

"-I want to have a baby."

Both royals stopped and blinked at eachother, Susan looking a little surprised but still very lofty and mild, as if her head was slightly in the clouds.

"A baby? A baby what?"

Caspian pulled his eyebrows together and stared at her with surprise written in his chocalate eyes. Was she being serious, or did he just enjoy seeing him squirm?

"Well...a baby us, Susan. I want to have a baby; I want _us _to be parents."

Susan blinked in surprise and put down her spoon, settling her free hand on her hip. She felt a bit blind-sided but not quite sure why.

"Well sweetheart... did you just miss the entire lecture Mariella gave about her father waiting for me to get pregnant and then declaring war and then trying to kill me?"

"No, no of course not! That was some of the scariest news I have ever heard in my life! I would never, ever dream of risking your life like that- I don't know what I would do if he-if he...if that ever happened."

He paused and looked thoughtfully at his hands.

"Not _right _now of course. After this, after all of this mess is over. After I KNOW that you will be safe while carrying our baby and that all is well," he said quitely. Susan smiled, and walked cross the room, crawling into bed beside him and settling her head on his chest.

He in turn rested his cheek on her head and put his arm around her, stroking her long dark hair. He stopped for a moment with a troubled expression.

"Do you...not...want to have a baby?Well, or _my _baby?" he asked in a slightly injured tone.

Susan let out a horrified gasp, her head snapping off his chest and her beautiful blue eyes staring at him in a horrified manner.

"Oh Caspian, oh darling no, no of course not!" she said hurriedly, horrified at his words.

She cupped the side of his face with her hands and rubbed his cheek tenderly.

"Oh my love, nothing would make me happier than to have your baby. I have wanted a baby my entire life, oh of course I want a baby! I have never wanted anything more than I want to have a baby with you."

Caspian could not help himself and let out an enormous sigh of relief at her words, seeing the truth of them in her eyes. But she still looked so troubled.

"Caspian, we-we **will** try. After all of this is over and our baby will be safe in this world. You heard Mariella, Kasim is just waiting to kill our baby. We can't -we just cannot risk it right now Caspian." She paused and smirked at her husband.

"Besides, Peter seems rather against the idea. "

* * *

><p>"THAT BLASTED LITTLE MINX!"<p>

"How dare she? Who does she think she is, the bloody queen of Telmar! HOW DARE SHE, AFTER ALL I HAVE DONE FOR HER!"

"Father please..."

"Shut_ up_!'' the King roared, slapping a vase off its stand and ignoring his daughters' flinches as it smashed against the wall in a million pieces.

Tristan continued pacing like a caged leopard. "How dare she! And to think, I call her sister, the little traitorous minx!'' he spat venomously, eyes flaming.

"That-that TRAITOR! She has sided with those _Narnians!_ Why, she is no better than that Traitor Caspian the Tenth! Oh and if she ever comes back, I'll kill her!"

All four daughters gasped in absolute terror. "NO! Father, you can't! She's your daughter for Aslan's sake-oops!"

Malicia covered her mouth in her hands as Kasim stopped in his tracks and slowly, menacingly, turned to face his three trembling daughters.

"What did you just say?" he said in his most dangerous voice.

Arabelle and Arianna scrambled behind Malicia wildly clutching at her dress and shoulders, the three young girls shaking and quaking with fear as their father advanced angrily on them until his nose was nearly touching Malicia's.

"Did you just speak in the name of that-that _lion?"_

The three girls backed up as the older man came forward until Arianna's back bumped against the door, all three girls letting out a gasp as the fury in their father's eyes grew stronger and stronger.

Malicia screamed when her father grabbed his dagger out of the folds of his cloak, raising it above his head in knobbly hands trembling with anger.

All three screamed and squeezed their beautiful eyes closed, but the blow never came. Before they knew it, they were being drug down the hallways of the palace by the hair, their knees scraping against the jagged stone as they screamed and yelled, Malicia hitting her father's arms and fists in desperation.

"Daddy stop! Stop, let us go!"

"Please! Please!"

"SHUT UP YOU UNGODLY CREATURES! You are going where no one will ever find you, and you will never turn out like your miserable excuse for a sister!"

And with that he stopped in front of the great iron door, threw it open and shoved all three of his sobbing children inside, slamming the door behind him and twisting the key in the lock.

Finally realizing what happened, the princesses scrambled up and threw themselves against the heavy in door in time to see the sneer of their father through the bars of the window, walking away and leaving them there to rot.

"No, no-ooo. Stop! Let me out! Oh please, let me out. YOU CAN'T KEEP US IN HERE! Oh-h please...let us out! You must let me out, you can't keep me in here!"

"Please! Please, you must let us go! We are your children you cannot do this!"

"Father!"

King Kasim ignored his children's plee for mercy and only continued walking briskly down the dungeon corridor with a cruel sneer on his face until he reached his own dark chambers where he sat down at his desk and began writing a declaration of war.

* * *

><p>One day, when Edmund was nine years old, he passed a woman on the street. Her skin was tight, her face was scarred, her hair was white although she could have been no older than twenty four. She must have weighed about sixty pounds. She was screaming and covering her ears with her hands, rocking back and forth on the sidewalk, the tears running down from her eyes. Helen Pevensie had swallowed hard and pulled Edmund along, the little boy staring at the young woman.<p>

The two walked along in silence for while, Mrs. Pevensie trying hard not to cry while little Edmund pulled on her skirts.

"Mummy, why is that lady so sad?"

Mrs. Pevensie sighed and turned to her son with tears in her eyes. "My boy, there are horrible things in this world that we cannot understand, people in this world that we cannot understand. That lady-that poor young girl-was just saved from a concentration camp. "

Edmund was only nine but he knew well the meaning of the word.

"Why, why was she put in a concentation camp?" he asked innocently.

A tear slid down his mum's cheek and she put a hand on her son's shoulder. "Because sweetheart, she worshipps the lord in a different way. And some people cannot accept that and open their hearts to something different."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"Yes and no, my sweet. She was saved by a soldier; a very good man saved her life. But no my dear, I am afraid she will never quite be alright again. Her scars will heal and she will regain her health but I do not think she will ever be quite alright again. "

And on that day, Edmund made an oath that he would be that very good man that saved lives. Or that very good man that opened his heart to something new.

Edmund was not sure why the image of that poor young lady popped into his head when he felt the grass beneath his feet, but she was the first thing he saw in his mind. All of those years ago he had seen her for just a moment but she had left such an imprint on his mind that her memory had survived almost two lifeties.

As the sunlight caressed his face, Edmund smiled and pictured the moment that poor Jewish woman had been saved from her prison and seen the sun for the first time in who knows how long. He pictured the gratitude on her face and her mouth stretched into a wordless thank you as he lead her away from the hell hole.

He felt just like she looked, pale and sick and dangerously thin. He wanted to collapse on the grass and cry, holding his hands over his ears to block the awful darkness and piercing cold that had clouded his brain for eighteen days. He had been suffering for so long but now he was free, he was out in the sun. He was feeling the wind brushing against his face and smellling the aroma of flowers wafting through the breeze. His captor had saved him. He had been one of the lucky ones, he had been saved. And despite all of the horrible things he had seen in his life and all the agony and bloodshed he had witnessed in his time, there was good in the world.

He could see it on the face of every child, in the gaze of every soldier war bound, in the face of every old man who was sending his son off to defend what he know longer was able to, in the face of every girl waiting for her lover to walk off the train. In the face of every great king that had ever lived.

In the face of the great Lion who had brought the goodness to this world.

In the face of his sisters and his brothers and his friends. By the lions mane, there was good in this world. He could see it glowing, could see it right before his eyes, thriving and growing and spreading itself to all corners of the land. It was called hope and it had saved him from the darkness of the cave.

And it was what brought him home. At last.

* * *

><p>The Giant had fallen, the cave had been closed, the treasures had been gathered and the cages destroyed so that none may suffer the same fate of Sir Trumpkin of Narnia and the good King Edmund the Just. The cordial was safely in the clutches of the King once more, the swords had been found stowed away beneath a great bookshelf that had gone unnoticed by the prisoners. Everything was going to be alright.<p>

And as King Edmund and Trumpkin flew across the valleys and forests like the wolves of Jadis were on their heels, Edmund was fueled by the euphoria growing in his heart, for he had not failed his brother-in-law. Just a few moments and he would be bursting victoriously through the gates and at last-oh at _last _he would look upon the faces of his family once more and be apart of their love again after eighteen days of not knowing if they were well, or even still at the castle.

As the last hill was climbed and the towers of Cair Paravel-the home of the four thrones of the sons of adam and the daughters of Eve- Edmund could not help but feel a slight stab of guilt pulling at him. It had been unkind of them to escape as they did and was genuinely sorry-but that too is a tale for another day.

Edmund could not get enough of the fresh air that was whipping across his face and he could sense that Trumpkin felt the same way. The moment the castle gates came in sight Edmund feared that he would explode, because he could find no outlet for the extreme happiness that was bursting from every cell in his body.

He and Trumpkin-companions to the end, brothers at heart, partners in crime-finally skidded to a halt right in front to the large gates and looked at eachother.

They were home.

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><p><strong>yay, Edmund's finally home! That drug out a little longer than i thought but i will be explaining exactly how he and Trumpkin actually escaped in the next chapter, as well as the reunion scence, the declaration and preparation of war yada yada yada. Hopefully the first battle will begin in the chapter after next, or if all goes well, in the next chapter as well. So stay tuned; it is going to get exciting. <strong>


	19. And So It Begins

Lucy was crying.

She had been doing a lot of that lately. Ever since Edmund left actually, though Lucy was no fool and knew better than to let her family see. Despite what they thought, she was no little girl and she knew better than to burden them with her worries. Peter had almost killed just outside his own bedroom, Caspian had been poisoned at least twice by the looks of him, and Susan, well Susan was watching everything she loved and trusted fall down around her. Lucy had not place to be troubled any of them with her woes. Instead, she had always resolved to try to listen to theirs. But losing a brother and not knowing where he was or if he was alright or when he was coming home, or even if he was alive was too much.

Sometimes, even queens cry.

And it was one of those sometimes.

There she was, sitting on Caspian and Susan's bed, having unconsciously grabbed one of Caspian's good shirts—the one he wore to his wedding in fact—and was currently sniffling into it and dabbing at her puffy eyes with the sleeves. It was turning into a soggy, snotty, and sopping mess. It was a very good thing Caspian was so nice.

"Lu? Is that you? Are-are you crying?"

Caspian, upon hearing some odd moans and very sad noises, instantly rushed into his bedroom, throwing himself onto the side of the bed and looking at his new little sister with bewilderment and worried eyes.

"Lucy!''

The little queen looked up and almost squealed a bit in fright.

"Oh Caspian! Oh, oh I'm so sorry! I know I shouldn't be in here, I'll be leaving now." She said, trying to keep her voice steady. Caspian sort of snorted when she stood up, whipping at her eyes angrily. He caught her wrist and pulled her into a hug, quite worried but knowing exactly what was bugging her so much.

"Don't be silly, Lu. You are always welcome. Don't cry little Lu. I miss him too. I miss him so much. But you know, I have a feeling we are going to be seeing him soon," he said in a soothing voice, rubbing soft circles on his sister's back. She sniffled again into his shirt.

"You think so?" she asked in a tiny voice.

"I know so," he said confidently. Lucy sniffled one more time and then took her head of her brother -in -law's shoulder.

"Look at me, snotting all over your shirt," she loosened her grip on her 'hankerchief' and then her eyes widened as she uncrumpled it and realized it was Caspian's wedding shirt.

Caspian had a similar revelation at the same time and his jaw dropped slightly. "Oh, Oh! Caspian, oh—oh I am so, so sorry, I had no idea this was your best shirt. Oh, oh!" the young queen shrieked in dismay.

Caspian was slightly stunned and did not say anything for a while as the little queen fretted over his shirt, getting herself all worked up again.

Just as Caspian was beginning to tell her not to worry about it, one of the few trusted palace guards left rushed into the room, nearly knocking over a nightstand in the process.

Caspian instinctively felt around the floor for his sword. "What has happened now?" he asked the guard exasperatedly, readjusting his grip on Lucy who had looked up from his shoulder at the sound of the loud crash.

The guard merely stood in the doorway panting, with a look of utter awe and what can only be described as complete shock. Caspian narrowed his eyes in disbelief, silently asking the guard if he was true in his assumptions. The guard nodded and Caspian's sword clattered to the ground. The castle seemed to grow silent and before Lucy was even sure of what was going on, she was being dragged very quickly through the corridors of the Cair by a very, very excited Caspian. The hallways were a blur as Caspian's long legs pounded against the marbel, never seeming to go fast enough to please their owner as they carried the King of Narnia through their hallowed halls.

Lucy's arm was almost wrenched off as she and Caspian whirled around the corner at breakneck speeds before the young queen could even inquire as to what on Earth her oldest brother was so excited about.

"Cas…pian…what….is..it, where….are we…going…" she huffed, her much shorter legs struggling to keep up with his much longer ones.

Caspian ignored her utterly, as he was only focused on one thing as he charged through the halls like thunder, insane and utter joy bursting through every cell in his body. The closer they got to the palace gates, the farther the great iron bars seemed away. He ran and ran and ran but no matter how hard he pushed his good strong legs, it seemed to his distraught brain that he was going slower and slower as time passed.

What seemed to be decades later, the gates were in sight and the Telmarine could make out the beautiful figure of his wife and King Peter quite literally beside themselves with elation, crying and dancing and laughing and sobbing and hugging a very familiar dark head.

At first, Lucy was certain it was a dream and it took her already lightheaded self to gather her thoughts. She even gave herself a little pinch to make sure she was not just having a gloriously wonderful dream. She wasn't.

"Edmund!" she cried at the top of her lungs as she broke away from Caspian, half laughing, half crying and nearly falling over her own feet in her mad rush to her brother who had caught a glimpse of his little sister over Peter's shoulder and whose face had split into a grin only Edmund could conjure up.

The Just King, who despite himself had tears of happiness in his great brown eyes, let out an most un-Edmundly shriek of glee at the sight of that wild auburn hair and beautiful smile. Susan and Peter both looked up from Edmund's shoulder and tried to see through the tears blurring their vision. Like a little boy eager to open his presents on Christmas morning, Edmund squirmed a bit with glowing eyes and though neither sibling was even close to being ready to release their baby brother, they gave him a little push towards Lucy. She was not quite sure what made her stop a few feet from her brother-perhaps she just wanted to take him in all his glory and see his every present mischievous smile, or perhaps she wanted to see if he looked any different or if his adventures had left marks in his face, as most usually do. (It very easy to tell by the look on one's face whether they have endeavored in any grand adventure in his or her lifetime, for they always look as though they know of some splendid secret about life that no one else knows, which they do). Edmund too stopped and the two simple stared at each other for a moment. Finally Edmund grinned and held out his arms.

"I told you I would be back."

Lucy sprinted forward into his waiting arms and gave him such a hug as to knock the much bigger king backwards, straight into the arms of Peter and Susan who embraced their siblings whole heartedly, tears running down all of their cheeks. How wonderful it felt to be a part of a family again! How glorious it was to feel the warmth from Susan's irreplaceable hugs and feel Lucy's heartbeat and Peter rough hands clapping him on the back. And then Edmund smiled because he had done it. He had actually brought back the cordial and it was going to save his brother's life and everything just might be okay again.

Peter had not cried in front of his siblings since the horrible incident with Susan before her and Caspian were married, and before that only when Edmund had very nearly died while fighting the White Witch. But now, tears were streaming down both of his cheeks as he held his baby brother—greatest man he had ever known and stood by him no matter how beastly Peter had been—in his arms and remembered all the times Edmund had been there for him. All the times he had stood by Peter's decision, no matter how wrong he was or how stubborn he was, his brother had always supported him one-hundred and twenty percent. All the pranks Edmund had pulled and all the laughs and memories they had created together. All the times Edmund had simply just been there, they strong and silent brother. He remembered how Edmund was the only person that could every thing inside Peter right again simply not saying anything. How wonderful Edmund was, as a brother, as a king, but most of all a man He remembered how Edmund was the only person that could every thing inside Peter right again simply not saying anything. How wonderful Edmund was, as a brother, as a king, but most of all a man.

But Caspian hung back slightly, somehow knowing it was not his place to intrude on this moment.  
>"Oh Aslan I missed you all like you would not believe!" he murmured into Susan's hair and patted Lucy, who was hugging his middle tightly. Peter ruffled Edmund's hair. "Welcome back little brother," he said with a warm smile. Edmund caught the slight catch in his brother's voice and briefly unwrapped his arm from around Susan's waist and clasped his brother's forearm in a symbol of everlasting trust and brotherhood. Peter smiled up and Edmund who merely nodded and then grinned broadly, pulling Peter into a strong hug over Lucy's head. Susan smiled softly as she watched her two brothers unite and could only think she did not ever want any of this to end.<p>

It was undoubtedly the happiest moment of Edmund's life. He could see the wind and the trees and the sky and the sun.

"How fast can you prepare six thousand troops, General?"

The General studied the rigid form of his king with guarded eyes. "My lord?"

"How fast can you get six thousand men on the move?"

The General thought for a moment. "Three days, my liege."

The King growled.

"You will do it in one. By sunset tomorrow we will be on the move."

"Sunset? My king, but that is impossible. We must collect troops and gather weapons and distribute armor for six thousand men and—"

"Are you a Telmarine or not, General Sopepsian. " the king stated coldly. The General narrowed his eyes at his king.

"What are you insinuating?"  
>The king glared at his General. "It is the way of the true Telmarine to conquer, my lord. If you cannot gather a few measly regiments in a matter of a day, you may as well join those ninny Narnian Telmarines."<p>

The General pondered the king carefully. "We will be ready by sunset. "

The king smiled. "Good. By day after next, the King of the Animals and the husband of whores will see how a real Telmarine conquers. "

The King grabbed a glass of wine and poured a generous amount for himself and his general and handed it to the other man who eyed the dark fluid suspiciously, as if afraid of its contents.

"Cheers."

"To what?"

"A job well done."

"But…it is not over.''

"_It will be."_

"….and then that is when you showed up."

Edmund stared at Caspian with wide eyes and then ran a hand roughly over his face.

"Wow. I suppose I sort of missed a lot, huh." Edmund said in an attempt at a joke. His family nodded and Lucy snuggled up closer to Edmund's side.

The royal family of Narnian—after much crying and hugging and reuniting and laughing—had retreated into Susan and Caspian's room after Caspian had taken the cordial and were all currently settled comfortable on the big soft bed, although Caspian could not stop grinning at the slightly green look on Peter's face every time he glanced back down at his sister and her husband's bed; it was a pricelessly uncomfortable expression.

Edmund shook his head. "I'm so sorry I was not there," he whispered in an unusually small voice. Susan—who had been sitting curled up in Caspian's lap—reached over and patted her brother's knee.

"But you have always been here for all the other important things. Plus, you were busy trying to save us," she said warmly and Edmund grabbed her hand. He could always leave it to his sister saying just what he needed to hear just when he needed to hear it. And he had missed that.

He had missed all of it, so much. He had missed teasing Peter and gagging over Susan and Caspian's sweetness and Lucy's sun shiny goodness. He missed his family. He just missed being with them and fighting with them and seeing them every single day. He needed them, more than anything else in the world. They WERE his world.

But they had needed him as well. His family had been through hell and back while he had been in that horrible cave. Cair Parvel had actually been invaded in his absence , a war had been started, even. He had not been there when perhaps they needed him to be more than ever. But he was here now, and they were all there in Susan and Caspian's room, and he was never going away ever, ever again. Because there is no place like home, and home is where your family is.

It was comfortably silent for a moment before Lucy piped up. "So Ed, what have you and Trumpkin been up to?"

Edmund snorted.

"Well…"

* * *

><p>Edmund and Trumpkin spent most of the next day asleep, Trumpkin in his cozy little dwarf-sized bed and Edmund, to his family's amusement, in Susan and Caspian's. The royals had stayed up so very late the previous night discussing the situation with the Telmarines and all of Edmund's adventures that when the servants had entered the chamber in the morning, they had found all four of the royals and tucked in and snug and cuddled up together on the large bed. King Caspian and Susan of course were tucked up snugly in each other's arms, with Peter and Edmund sprawled horizontally over their legs and Lucy snuggled into Susan's neck.<p>

Edmund had looked so sweet and peaceful the next morning that no one dared wake him up and Susan just tucked him in, kissed her baby brother's forehead, shut off the light and left him to sleep.

And this is what Trumpkin found the morning after his eleven hour nap when he had looked out of his bedroom window to watch the breaking dawn and spotted a massive sworm of Telmarine's on the distant horizon. As any loyal soldier would, he had rushed to the King's chamber as fast as he was able to find a very sleepy, slightly drooling Edmund still dozing under the covers of King Caspian and Queen Susan's bedroom.

"Oi! Wake up boy, where's the king and the missus?"

Edmund jolted awake and clattered onto the cold stone floor in a mass of blankets, flailing and very womanly squeals. Trumpkin rolled his eyes.

"Blood hell," he mumbeled "hey, boy! ya bett'r pull yerself together damn fast and get some armor on!" he exclaimed as Edmund continued flailing on the floor, feeling around for some sort of weapon and trying to wipe the drool off his face.

"What, why?"  
>"Well, because the Telmarine are a'coming and they're practically at our gates!"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>sorry for the wait guys, a bit at my wits end with this story but don't worry, the next chapter will have more action. <strong>

**Oh, and another thing i have noticed, my number of reviews seem to be decreasing per chapter and i am just wondering if you all are getting bored or if my writing is unsatisfactory or you are not liking the plot. So if you are feeling any of the above, please press the little purple button below and let me know so i can fix it! Reviews keep me motivated, and i might update faster if i knew anyone was actually reading this thing. But a great big thanks to those of you who have been faithfully reviewing, love you all!**


	20. Chapter 20

**Oh my good golly gosh I am so sorry! I am a horrible person, making you all wait that long! I feel so terrible, so hopefully this slightly longish chapter will help make up for it. Please excuse grammatical errors and such, I just wanted to post as soon as it was finished. Enjoy and review!**

The thundering of hoof beats shook the ground and all beneath it.

The ceiling of the dark prison the Telmarine princesses had been trapped in for three days now crumbled onto the delicate finery of their dresses, centuries of dust and damp mold and rocks falling mechanically from the earthen ceiling of the prison.

The armies were setting out. Ten thousand horses black as death and riders cold as the grave pounded across the deserts of Telmar, swords blazing, preparing for the sacking of a century. When they were through with Narnian, shelter of cowardly forefathers unfitting of the title of Telmarines, there would be nothing left. Every mother of every child would ride shackled in the wagon of the true Telmarines back to Telmar where they would serve short miserable lives as servants and wives to the murderers of their husbands. Every child of every soldier would stand in the charred remains of hometowns wailing for fathers who would never come home and calling for mothers whom they never see again. And every cry of every frightened babe crying for his father would be the prisoners of war's to cherish.

Telmarines did not just defeat, Telmarines conquered.

And there was absolutely nothing Arianna could do about it. At least, not without Mariella, and not locked up in here. But, if she could get out, get all three of them out, perhaps she could finally prove to world Queen Daria had not died in vain by giving birth to her.

If, if is good.

"King Caspian! My lord, there is a problem with some of the artillery, sire it's not—"

"Your Highness! King Caspian, King Caspian I must speak to you i_mmediately _sire, two of the leopards have sprained a paw and now we only have a thirteen to carry thirty—"

"My liege! The armor is missing, sire! Almost an entire regiments worth! No one has seen it since it was put in the storage rooms yesterday and—"

"Oi! Where in the blazes is that wife o'yours? I need to see her about the archers pretty bloody fast!—"

"Help me, Your Majesty!"

"I need help!"

"This is a disaster!"

"We need more medal!"

"What are we going to do!"

"You Majesty something must be done about all of this! The Telmarines are approaching and they're practically at our gates and here we are all running amuck like chicken with our heads cut off and—"

"ENOUGH!"

"ENOUGH ENOUGH ENOUGH! Look, Lord Adrian ,if you are here to tell me that all of our swords are defective and the shields are falling apart and the armor is missing and the Telmarines are miles away and we have no sort of defense whatsoever, then just stop! I cannot possibly handle one more piece of bad news right now. If you are not going to be part of the solution, PLEASE do not add to the problem. Now all of you just shut up for one second and let me figure this out!" the Restorer of Old Ways growled, rubbing his temples as he paced briskly, his armor squeaking and creaking with every move.

"But Sire-!"

"Don't. Even. Think. About it," the king snarled through clenched teeth, not daring to even glance at the flustered belligerent lord scurrying after the armor clad king.

The double doors opened once more as yet another hoard of panicking men rushed through to alert the king of a million other things that had gone wrong. Caspian was just preparing to hurl his shield at the man closest to him when he realized that the blonde man leading the group was none other than his brother, and he looked scared as hell.

"Caspian, Caspian where is Susan? And Lucy? I can't find them anywhere, have you seen them?" the High King asked in a very out of breath, very puzzled voice.

The king ran a hand through his messy hair, wishing he had just stayed in bed this morning.

"No, I have not seen either of them since….late late last night, perhaps." He said slowly, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion as he did so.

Peter cocked his head. "How is that possible? You are bloody _married _to Susan—you sleep with her every night," he said a tad ruefully and making an awful face," you had to have seen her at some point this morning…"

Despite the very serious situation he was currently in, Caspian could not resist the opportunity to make his brother uncomfortable and dipped his head. "Aye. I _am _married to your sister, and I _do _see her in the morning," his serious face split into a cheeky grin, "but we do not actually _sleep _most nights."

The golden haired king's face turned a fascinating shade of purple, then green, then cherry red before he rolled his eyes. "If my sister was not so in love with you, I would so have killed you before now.

The king chuckled darkly," Indeed, love me she does. Most every night."

To his delight Peter actually growled at Caspian a moment "Would you cut that out please? We are in the middle of another bloody war, and I do not think the entire regiment needs to hear about your physical relationship with my sister, and _I _sure as hell don't!"

Caspian looked guilty for a second but then a small smile tugged at his lips. "I am sorry brother. You know I cannot resist making you so uncomfortable."

Miserably, "I know."

The kings were silent for a long moment.

"How late is late at night? And why did no one tell me of this?" Peter asked.

Caspian sighed wearily, "Well…I don't know, Susan was not in bed when I woke up this morning and I just figured she had gotten up early. And I had not realized Lucy was gone as well."

Griffin, one of the stable boys who had insisted on being suited up for war, took a shy but strong step forward and cleared his throat. "The Queens were saddled up around dusk, Your Highnesses. They told me not where they were going, nor when they were planning on being back.I suppose it was more late night—hours before the sun was even up. There is no way they could have seen the Telmarines…it would have been much too dark, and I just assumed that Your Majesties already knew..." the boy looked anxious, "perhaps I should have insisted on knowing their destination, Sire."

Caspian shook his head numbly, absently, and waved a hand at the young boy to gesture he was forgiven. "The horses. Which horses did they take? Lyric? Destrier? I can catch them if they left Destrier, we still have time.'' He said, looking around at Edmund and the soldiers then to Peter who had an uneasy look in his eyes.

"The last time you said that we lost half our men," the King of Old said in a quiet steady voice.

Caspian looked quite hurt by that and everyone in the room grew deadly silent, even Lord Adrian, who seemed to never stop talking.

A dark head pushed through the crowd of men behind Peter, and it took a stunned and hurt Caspian several moments to process the man as a fully armored Edmund, who looked as calm as ever though the fear in his eyes was painfully apparent.

"Are you SURE they have not returned yet? I mean, they would have heard the Telmarines approaching in the dead of night and surely they would have come back here to warn everyone."

Lord Adrian snorted. "Well this is just perfect, now we have to go trailing after the queens who decided to go gallivanting through the woods in the dead of night during a war. Perfect, bloody perfect. See, this is what happens when women are given too much freedom! Now, if they would just stick to party planning and producing heirs and pretty dresses, none of this would have happened! But because of that bloody _woman _and her big blue eyes'' he paused, making a rude gesture to mimic her," we are in another bloody war! And another thing umph…!"

The sexist lord's rant was cut off by the rather strong hand he suddenly found at his throat and the black as night intense eyes of King Caspian inches from his own pale yellow ones. The next moment, he felt the icy blade of Caspian's sword at his chest, pushing him backward.

"You pompous old windbag! I am sick and tired of hearing your bile! When she was gone, you would not quit badgering me about getting married, and then when she came back you did not like her, and then when we got MARRIED you continue to disrespect her and I will not tolerate any ill words of my love ANYMORE! I am DONE, do you hear me DONE with the likes of you! All this time you have been ranting about the evils of women and I will not stand idly by! She is Queen of Narnia and I love her, and you will treat her as such!"

The lord opened his mouth and was greeted with increasing pressure to his chest with the flat blade of his sword." Choose your words carefully milord. They could very well be your last."

"I thought no one need fear speak their mind before the Telmarine Who Saved Narnia? Or was that another lie?"  
>"You arrogant little-"<p>

"Yes, Lord Adrian. Speak your mind. But you will show respect to those who deserve it. Caspian is your King and Susan is your Queen. And not because he is the son of those tyrants before you. He is not king because it is his place by birth, he is king because Aslan made it so. It is the will of Aslan that King Caspian the Tenth sit on the throne by his queen. And she is back because Aslan made it so. And you will respect them or leave, Lord. Do not be so eager to challenge a man worth ten of you. I can personally guarantee it will be your undoing," Edmund's smirking voice echoed through the hall. Peter, forever the picture of kingliness, tried to hide his smirk behind his hand and even Caspian, who was thoroughly touched and choked up about Edmund's odd spasm of brotherly affection towards him, was smiling at the resemblance of the lord's bumpy old face to a deflated balloon.

The lord continued spluttering and gasping and trying to form coherent words. "You-serious! Troops…warriors…ridiculous….few miles….ten times our size…bloody boys and their silly little wives…crazy lion…oh why did I not go through the damn tree to the magical world when I had the chance!" those final muttering and curses were the only thing to be heard in the silent hallway as the crusty old lord stomped angrily down the hallway and out of their lives, flailing his hands over his head to match his ridiculous ramblings.

Edmund turned to his brothers and the rest of the flustered men in the hallway. "After all this is over, remind me to buy you all a drink to celebrate. Goodbye and good riddance!"

Even if the queens had been concentrating, they never would have seen them coming.

It came out of nowhere, like a thunderstorm on a cloudless day. And in all honesty, they should have heard it coming from miles and miles around. But when your brother has just appeared out of nowhere after being gone for what felt like a thousand years, your husband has been very recently poisoned, you were almost snatched right out of you home in the dead of night by the country responsible for all of the above, you almost saw your love murdered before your very eyes and your older brother was almost assassinated as well, things like listening for approaching horses and riders tend to slip your mind.

Especially if you are sinking deep into the waters of the sparkling water of the river and feeling, if only for a moment, that there is not an enormous threat of everything falling apart hanging over your head. As Susan peeled off her lavender dress, staying in her thin chemise, and helped Lucy with her buttons before the pair of them allowed themselves a few moments of peace to float in the water, as if they were just two normal sisters and everything was not hanging by a thread.

Susan ran a finger through her semi wet curls before allowing the cool water to trickle over her face, her chest, her bloated stomach, and completely through the half wet curls. And if she closed her eyes, she could picture everything being alright again so clearly. She could pretend all she wanted that things in Narnia were perfect, that things with her family were perfect, and that things with her in general were perfect, but then she would catch a glimpse of the scars on her body or see a picture of Caspian trying to smile up at her through his agony and the fantasy was shattered like the many pieces of her crumbling life.

"What are you thinking of, Susan?" Lucy asked in her innocent little way, breaking Susan out of her gloom.

The Gentle queen pushed herself through the water, "Nothing. Everything. Mostly everything," she answered cryptically and the younger girl flung water at her.

"You know what I mean," she teased as her older sister splashed pathetically back at her.

"Yes, that is why I answered you," Susan responded with a half hearted grin, not being able to resist teasing just a little. What are big sisters for, right?

After a moment, "It's all going to be okay, right Lu?" Susan knew that those sorts of things were not what she should be saying, but somehow at that moment it just seemed the right thing to say.

Lucy gasped and turned her wet head to look at her sister, "Of course it is Su, you have to believe that! You believe in Aslan, don't you?" she asked, much quieter this time.

Susan pushed through the water and sighed, "Of course I do Lucy, you know that. I'm just….," she sighed again, " I don't understand why all of this has been happening or if this is really what was supposed to happen."

"What do you mean?"

"I just don't see what all this means…Caspian almost DIED Lucy; maybe he would have been better off if we had not come back….maybe things would have been better for him if I had just stayed away."

At that, the younger queen gasped and stood up in the water. Shocked, "Susan Pevensie! How can you even think that? Caspian is SO in love with you….how can you even think his life would be better if you were not in it? Do you not understand his love for you at all?" she asked in a puzzled voice.

Susan shifter herself in the water uncomfortably. "I do, Lucy. I know that he loves me-"

"Is _in_ love with you. Madly. Hopelessly. " Lucy corrected. Susan gave her a look before continuing. "He has been hurt so many times because of me. And it simply is not fair to him to have to go through all that he does for me. I just want him to be safe, Lucy, and being with me is not keeping him safe. I'm scared for him, Lu."

Lucy gave her sister a sympathetic look before swimming to her sister's side and looked her straight in the eye, knowing that Susan had to be looking into someone's eyes to trust them, and lead her sister to a slippery rock jutting out of the merry river. "And you don't think the rest of them us are? Susan, Caspian is my best friend, no he's more than that he's my brother and I love him. And yeah, I am scared. I am so scared for him. But…I know that he is going to be alright. He'll be fine, we all will. Just keep your faith and all will be well. Everyone thought it was hopeless when the White Witch ruled, but look where we are now thirteen hundred years later. We came along and we defeated her, and we had no idea what we were doing back then! Aslan did will never forsake us. We are his children and he loves us. He will keep us safe."

Feeling like a lost little girl cowering in a bomb shelter in Finchley England, Susan smiled and wrapped her arms around her baby sister, wondering if perhaps she needed Lucy's wisdom too much. The was a loud splash in the water just a few yards away, in Susan and Lucy's blind spot. Just wanting to spend a few moments like this, holding her sister, Susan paid no attention to the splash and murmured to Lucy that it was just a fish. But when three or four much louder, very rapid splashes split the air again, the sister's broke apart. Four more behind them. When the sister's whipped their heads around, more sounded to their left. And then more and more until the sister's were gripping onto each other and turning and glancing and gasping in every which way. The sisters could not see anything or anyone, but the slap of heavy boots against the serene water was an unmistakable sound to both girls, and they knew that whoever belonged in those boots had them surrounded.

"Who's there?" the Gentle Queen called out, followed by Lucy's brave "We are not afraid of you."

Splash, thump, splash splash thump. _Whisper. Whisper. Splash Thump . Closer and closer and closer, louder and louder. _

Susan cast a fearful glance towards the shore, hoping to see sign of the strangely invisible captures, and caught the glare of the sun on her horn, uselessly laying meters away.

Together, "Show yourselves!"

The footsteps were only spitting distance away from the queens, who were now huddled up on the slippery rock, each holding a sharp stone and pointing them at the water. Lucy screamed when the closest footstep send droplets of water careening into her face, and she could practically _feel _the invisible figure slinking up onto the rock.

And what occured next Lucy was never quite sure of; all she remembered was a loud noise, a muttered  
>Telmarine curse, and throbbing pain in her left temple.<p>

And through the haze of being thrown on a horse, shouting of voices and wondering where her sister was and if she was alright, or if she had escaped, Queen Lucy the Valiant heard an angry roar.

Annabelle huffed and set down her rock, resting her hands on her knees and croaked like a frog."It's…no…use….walls…too thick…must…..stop…." the ragged princess whined, staring at her little sister who was pounding a rock into a the hole made by a few loose stones in the prison wall, her big brown eyes gleaming with fierce determination as her small fist pounded again and again.

"It…won't ….work" her exhausted sisters gasped between the rhythm of the three rocks beating against the damp earth in perfect harmony.

Arianna fixed her eyes on the problem in front of her and saw King Caspian and Queen Susan holding hands and laughing. "It has to."

For the first time in his entire life, Tristan was in charge.

And, it is to be noted, he was not particularly good at it.

There had come a point, shortly after the home of the Narnian royals was in sight, where all ten thousand of the troops had all abruptly stopped in their tracks and looked at Tristan , the awkward and whiny, gangly teenage boy forever hiding behind his father, who was on a very secret mission of his own and had left Tristan in charge. Kasim's general stopped as well, clearing his throat in signal to the hot headed Prince who looked around at all the men. "What? Why is everybody stopping! I never said stop! I'm the boss around here, nobody said stop did you say stop? I didn't say stop! Why is everybody stopping! Stop stopping" he squawked loudly, flailing wildly with his hands as if that would make the troops resume their exhausting march.

The prince had just opened his wide mouth when the general clearing his throat and scooted his horse closer to Tristan's. "They are waiting for you to give a speech, my lord." He whispered in a low and mildly amused voice.

Tristan looked utterly terrified for a moment and then drew himself up and puffed out his chest. "Oh. Naturally. Of course they would want to hear from the genius behind this mastermind plan." He said arrogantly.

The general held back a snicker. "Well, yes, but your father is elsewhere at the moment. "

Tristan very wisely choose not to respond to that particular comment, but the Telmarine general would never forget the way his chest deflated and the long look on Tristan's smug little face.

"Of course,er," he turned to the ten thousand men staring expectantly at him, " so, um, men. Let's ah, let's, go out there and….kill some Narnians…and,like…win. And….um, er…just, ah…go out there and do your thing…so uh, let's bring this castle down…and like, kill some kings and stuff. So, er, yeah. Go team Telmarine!"

**Ok so I know the ending with the queens getting captured was a little out of place and awkward, but I hope it wasn't too off. And again, please forgive grammatical errors—I was just kind of desperate to post something since I haven't posted in months. And PLEASE PLEASE review and let me know what you think, I am losing motivation for this story like you wouldn't believe so please, please don't be shy and let me know whatcha think. I won't bite, I promise!**


	21. The Beginning of Forever

**hello fanfiction world, yes it me, i am, in fact alive! and horribly horrible sorry for the looooong wait *pouts* but things have been ridiculous. I am also somewhat sad to announce that this will be the last chapter of this story file! It has been a long journey and thank you so, so much to everyone who has taken the time to review, favorite, and alert this story. YOU GUYS ROCK AND I LOVE YOU ALL! i am sorry if it is an abrupt ending, i am a tad rusty but i really really hope that it is a suffices as an ending. Thank you all so much and obsessedchick13, i have a feeling you will like this chapter. This one's for you XD! i hope it lives up to all of your expectations. And i have a little surprise for you all too...  
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><p>The first thing Lucy noticed when she came to was that whoever had tied her hands, must have been either very dimwitted or in a very big hurry.<p>

For one thing, the knot was tied in a bow. And for another thing, it was not even double knotted, and the rope was frayed in several places. Most certainly not suitable binding for a queen of Narnia.

And the second thing she noticed, was the battle sounds. Very, very close battle sounds. She could smell the blood. Just a few more feet and she would Screaming and pounding, shrieking and clanking. The sound of the murderers, and of the murdered. Unpleasant sounds. Evil sounds. Sounds she knew her brothers were smack in the middle of. Sounds she knew would be coming from her family if she and Susan did not do anything. Where was Susan, anyway? she wondered to herself quietly as the horse she was tied to galloped on, blindly following what was obviously the horse of King Kasim. How she hated that man.

"Pssst. Lu. Lucy."

The Valiant Queen did her best to twist around in her awkward position strapped-rather poorly- to the saddle of a horse- but would recognize the voice of her sister anywhere.

"Susan, are you alright?" she whispered back urgently.

"I'm fine. You?"

" Can you see anything?" she asked, as her view was being blocked by Lucy's horse. With quite a bit of shuffling Lucy was able to twist around and peer around one of her captor's heads.

"Yes. We are almost there. It looks like the battle grounds are surrounded by trees; the edge is only a few meters away! Oh god!" she murmured as the mangled face of a Narnian flashed through the bushes up ahead.

"What is it?" Susan asked in a whisper and Lucy gulped. "Nothing... What are they doing? Running into battle blindly hoping the boys will surrender if they see that they have us hostage?"

Susan humphed. "I suppose so. Men are such idiots!"

"Did you hear that?" one of the dimwitted soldiers asked and the girls bit their lips. The horses were hiding in the shadows of the trees on the outskirts of the battle now.

"Yes. It is the sound of a Telmarine victory." Kasim declared proudly and Susan and Lucy rolled their eyes.

The king and the soldiers disolved into conversation about the best plan while Susan managed to nudge the horse with her foot and get it to saddle up next to Lucy's so the sister's heads were close together.

"What's the plan?"

"Well," Susan reasoned, "if we take the horses and run they will certainly catch up to us, and we don't have any weapons to fight our way out..."

"Wait! I've got my dagger!"

"Great...can you reach that saddle bag? Perhaps there is a sword in it?"

"Hey! Did you hear that my liege? It sounded like talking..."

"Oh shut up you old goat and let me think!"

"Uhh sir?"

"Quiet!"

"Sir?"

"What is it you nincompoop?"

"Umm, i do not think this is such a good idea..."

"And why ever not?"

"Umm, because I think our prisoners have escaped..."

"WHAT?"

Kasim whipped around to find the two horses that had just moments ago been holding the queens of Narnia, which were now completely rider less. After quite a little tantrum with a fair share of cursing and screaming, the king choked out."Find them you fools! This plan is nothing without them!NOW"

Quickly, the soldiers scrambled about in the nearby trees, parting bushes and searching undergrowth with crossbows at the ready and sword's drawn.

''Where are you?" the ill tempered king shouted, unknowingly backing right out of the cover of the trees and right into the battle field.

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><p><em>Stab<em>

_Slice_

_Twist_

_Jab _

_Smite_

_Pummel_

_Poke _

_Cut_

_Jab_

_Stab_

_Kill_

_Jump_

_Slice_

_Smash…_

Every battle move, every jab, twist, cut, maneuver and every motion he had ever performed with a blade in hand had all come together and were working as one within Caspian. He thought of nothing, nothing but that horrible bastard boy and his horrible father who had planned the assassination of Caspian the IX, Caspian's father. He saw that boy's smug little face in every man Telmarine he killed. Every scream of every man was Caspian's to cherish because no matter the man, the voice was that of either that twisted child-killing, father murdering dictator or his wife molesting, brother taunting, whiny little beast of a son.

His body was on auto pilot. His body was twisting through the air at incredible speeds, his arm slashing down through the throat of an unsuspecting man as a panther like yowl crawled out of his own throat. Before his feet even had the chance to touch the ground again, he was pulling his sword through the rusty chain mail of another Telmarine, but the more he slashed and killed, the more his muscles ached for more. He could kill a thousand Telmarines, but each kill would be wasted because the only life Caspian wanted to take, was hiding from him like a child behind his mother's skirts.

The furry was burning so fantastically within him Caspian did not even recognize his own name being yelled by his brothers whom were fighting for their lives only meters away as they shouted orders and warning and insults to one another while never missing a step in cutting down the enemy. Side by side fought Edmund and Peter like all of Aslan's country to defend the honor of their sister and the lost life of their brother's father. Side by side they yelled and sweated, slashed and smite, for their country, for their sisters, for their brothers, for themselves.

Because in a battle like this, when the odds are ten to one and everyone in your army is willing to die trying, fighting for what you love is the only way to stay alive.

When the enemy pushes forward in never ending waves of angry hatred, and men on all sides of you are doing everything they can to stay alive and dodge the blades of six or seven blades at once, the only way to keep yourself from running for the hills is to picture your family in every ally you see. It certainly hurts to let an ally die and each loss of a member of your army hurts, and as a king you will do everything in your power to save them, but at the same time you accept that sometimes it is just too late. But when you see your sister's face in an archer being dragged to the ground, there are no options. How can you run, how can you turn away when someone with your sister's face is on the brink of a most painful death. How can you accept defeat when every falling centaur gasping for one final goodbye shares the smile of your brother. How can you be coward, how can you not win, when all you see around you is your family dying over and over again? When each Telmarine soldier is hacking at men who all seem to share the face of your family, how can each swing of the blade not be an extremely personal offense?

And the Kings of Narnia took it personally indeed, cutting down enemy soldiers left and right, slamming some into the ground and completely blind siding others before sending them meet their maker, often screaming "Stay away from my brother you pig," or, if you are Caspian, "Not my wife you bastard!". (It is to be noted many of the Telmarines who died that day were quite confused at the time of their deaths).

But no matter how many were killed, more and more kept coming in waves from every direction until at least four of five Telmarines were taking on one Narnian at a time. "Stay together! Hold your ranks!" the kings of Narnia yelled between dodging blades and hurling random swords from the ground and sometimes pushing off of other men to lunge more forcefully at soldiers.

Caspian whipped his head back and forth repeatedly, scanning the thousands of men for the only two that mattered:Kasim and Tristan.

"Caspian!" the king whipped around and barely had to time to block his face with his blade before the weight of two or three men bore down on his left arm. He let out an angry yowl and before he knew it, his brother's were at his side and the men were laying limp on top of him, there swords piercing either side of him.

"Watch yourself Caspian!" Edmund and Peter exclaimed before charging back into the mass of squirming bodies and clanking swords.

Pushing the dead bodies off of himself, he turned one last time to check over his shoulde and that is when he saw him, not fifteen meters away, hiding behind a jagged rock and holding his sword shakily out in front of him. The boy who had slipped poison into his drink and tried to seduce his wife. With blood boiling like fire in his veins, Caspian leapt over soldier and sword like one possessed and suddenly found himself standing before the cowardly prince who had been the cause of so much pain the last few months.

Tristan's eyes locked on the boots that had suddenly landed in front of his safe little hiding space and let his eyes slowly travel up the body until he found himself staring into the eyes of the enraged king. "Uh oh."

"Get up!" he growled, pointing his sword at the throat of the traitor.

"Uh, no thanks."

"STAND UP AND FIGHT YOU COWARD!'

Scrambling up from the ground and grabbing to untangle his sword from the scabbard, "Okay, okay I'm up!"

"You filthy little coward. How dare you. How dare you cower behind a rock and watch as your own people die for what you started. How dare you claim the crown. How dare you stand before your people and call them your king, you vomitous mass! How do you live with yourself, pig!"

Pulling himself up to his full height-about a foot and a half shorter than Caspian-"It gets easier with practice..."

"You little beast!" Caspian yowled as he advanced and pressed his blade against the boy's. "Give me one reason why I should not smite you through the heart without a proper fight right now!"

The prince's trembling lips quirked up into a smug smile. "Because my father has your wife." he smirked.

Caspian hesitated a moment. "You are lying."

Snorted, " My father left days ago. Your child queen and that beautiful'- the way he drug out the word made Caspian's toes curl-"little minx of yours left before dawn for a ride. My father was waiting for them. He was going to just attack your castle and steal them away, but your wife played straight into our trap. She will be mine by midnight."

"YOU DO NOT TOUCH HER YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

Caspian's hand began to tremble, and Tristan's voice grew louder and louder. "I am going to kill you Caspian-"

"Try. I implore you."

"Oh but do not worry. After those two pathetic excuses for kings and the silly little child queen are disposed of, I will take good care of your wife. She will worship the ground I walk on,"

"Oh hell,'" Caspian muttered.

"-give me a few strapping young lads, maybe a daughter or two-"

Caspian's sword flashed and blood began to drip down Tristan's face. Shrieked, "Do _not_ speak of her like that!"

"-I will give her more than you could have hoped to, you pathetic little man."

Flash. More blood. "She loves me, and that will always be enough!" Caspian cried.

Tristan paused and looked at him. Before digging up some new-found courage (or stupidity) and grabbed the flat of Caspian's sword, blood gushing down his face. The prince got no more than an inch from the King's face. "I will remember that when I am in bed with your wife."

Alarmed by the shriek of absolute furry that rang through the air, Narnian and Telmarine alike paused, swords raised and poised to kill, and dozens of heads turned towards King Caspian, The Telmarine who Saved Narnia, who was quivering and cursing, covered in various scratches and bruises, standing over the decapitated head of the Prince of Telmar. Peter and Edmund stopped completely, both breathing hard and staring at the dead body of Prince Tristan and the rigid form of a bloody Caspian standing victoriously over the body, still repeated the glorious moment when the life of the arrogant boy became his to take-Caspian enjoyed it far more than was healthy.

Both three kings were broken out of their reveries as a very loud, very feminine, very Lucy-like shriek split the air. "CASPIAN! LOOK OUT!"

Caspian had scarcely began to turn when the sickening sound of blood gurgling in the throat of a dying man reached his ears and he slowly turned around to see the frozen face of King Kasim of Telmar, sword still raised, staring blankly into Caspian's eyes with an oh so familiar red arrow jutting out of this throat. Caspian gasped and before he could even begin processing that the leaders of the enemy had both been murdered within about sixty seconds of each other, he found himself smashing his lips into Susan's and gathering her up in his arms, clinging to fact that she was alright, that she was there, with him, and that Tristan would never bother her again. Eventually the two had to break apart. "Thank Aslan you are alright! I was so worried about you, do not every go off without telling me again! Oh gods I love you so much!" he huffed as he pulled her to him again, totally unaware of the retreated enemy. And amidst the thundering cheers, clanking of swords, and retreating of a long feared enemy, Caspian, Susan, Peter, Edmund and Lucy stand amongst friends, ready to start the beginnng of forever.

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><p><strong>Four Months Later<strong>

Susan was sprinting down the halls of Cair Paravel, hair flying out behind her, cheeks flushed, and enormous grin plastered across her face. Her heart was beating a million times per minute, her entire body was tingling and every nerve in her body seemed to be buzzing as she rushed in and out of the council room, her and Caspian's bedroom, the dining hall, Caspian's study, and the council room in frantic search for her husband. Never in her life had she been so excited, like her body could not even contain her excitement and the real Susan was somewhere up above floating in the air happily while her body wandered around aimlessly in a hazy stupor. No matter how fast she ran, it would never be fast enough and her brain was running out of ideas.

"Good morning your majesty!Care for some fresh squeezed lemonade?"

"Oh no thank you Marietta dear!" she huffed as she ran past the servant before stopping at the end of the hall.

"Oh, wait! Have you seen King Caspian? I MUST speak to him immediately, it is very important!" she yelled ecstatically. Marietta looked concerned.

"Is everything alright my Queen? Would you like me to find King Peter or Edmund? Or Queen Lucy perhaps?"

"No, no, no, no dear! I must speak to him right now!"

"I believe he is in the professor's library, last time I saw." the servant responded and Susan's face light up as she thanked the woman and continued her sprint down the corridors.

Half an hour and one very unproductive trip to the library later, Susan was pouting in the main corridor after being instructed by the kind professor that Caspian was on his way to the council room. Apparently, she had not missed him by ten minutes. Once again, the queen continued her wild goose chase through the halls until finallly coming to the hallway leading to the large oval council room.

"...I assure you lord Ravorlis, it is top priority and shall be dealt with immediately...Susan! Good morning darling, I feel like I have not seen you in hours!" Caspian exclaimed, his face lighting up as he spotted his beatiful wife at the end of the halls.

Susan squealed in delight upon seeing the very man she had been so desperately searching for all morning and lifted her skirts before rushing down the hallway and grinning massively as she threw herself into her husbands arms and covered his face in kisses. "I love you I love you I love!" she said between kisses. Caspian chuckled. "I love you too! Why such enthusiasm?"

She smiled massively and squealed to herself. "I have something to tell you." she said excitedly to her grinning husband. "Okay. I am listening."

"I'm pregnant!"

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><p><strong>*squeals excitedly* I can't believe it's over! I hope that it is not too horrible and that you don't all hate me for leaving you with a cliffhanger! Ok and so now that this story is over, I am thinking about starting another multi chapter Au Pevensies don't leave fic. And i PROMISE that i will continue Susan and Caspian's story with the baby someday but i feel like i need a break from this for a while. please please please review!final thoughts, opionions on what i should write next. I cannot believe this is over and once again, you guys are the best! i would have never finished without you and thank you so much! look for a new story or sequel or somethig!<strong>


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